The couple were introduced to
each other by a mutual friend in London in July 2016. Meghan Markle and Prince
Harry announced their engagement on 27 November 2017 and therefore dated
for just 16 months before the Duke proposed.
Tina Brown, the author of ‘The
Palace Papers: Inside The House Of Windsor – The Truth And The Turmoil’, claims
Prince William had reservations about how fast Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s
relationship was moving when they first started dating.
Ms. Brown said that she spoke
to more than 120 people for the book, many of whom were close to senior royals.
The author quotes a source as
claiming the Duke of Cambridge felt Meghan should have more time to build a
life in the UK before marrying his brother.
News that the Duchess had
officially moved out of her Toronto apartment to join Harry in the UK emerged
in November 2017, just one week before the couple’s engagement had been
announced.
Ms. Brown’s source claims that in response, Harry responded to William’s
concerns by saying he wanted Meghan to have police protection that she would be
entitled to when they married.
In “The Palace Papers”, Tina
Brown writes: “To his brother’s concerns, Harry’s riposte can be summarized as,
I am told, ‘Well, actually the best way I can protect her is to marry her as
quickly as possible because as soon as I marry her she will then get police
protection.’”
Meghan and Harry tied the knot
in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in 2018, and the pair’s nuptials were
watched live by an estimated 1.9 billion people.
Upon marrying Harry, Meghan
became a senior working member of the royal family, meaning she was entitled to
publicly-funded police protection.
