As rumours continue to swirl surround the possibility of an impendingengagement announcement for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, a new statement on the matter from Buckingham Palace will probably do little to cool the speculation.
In response to a flurry of headlines claiming that a major announcement from Kensington Palace was just a matter of hours away (cue endless refreshing of the @KensingtonRoyal Twitter feed), a spokesperson for the royal family reportedly refused to provide any further comment, adding that they 'would not be giving a running commentary on Harry's love life' (as reported by Hello!).
Earlier this week, it was revealed that bookmakers across the country had suspended all bets on an engagement. Indeed, William Hill even went so far as to issue a statement saying: 'We believe the happy couple are already engaged and possibly have been for some time.'
The Evening Standard then reported that BBC journalists had been braced for a major announcement from the royals, set to break either on Friday (yesterday) or in the early stages of next week. The news that royal staff had been summoned to Buckingham Palace for an important meeting (similar to that held ahead of Prince Philip's retirement from public duties earlier this year) only served to compound the general feeling that the engagement news is but a matter of days away.
Today, multiple news outlets have reported that the meeting confirmed the engagement to the Queen's staff. Per the Daily Star, a royal source revealed that the couple will be opting out of the typical royal pomp and ceremony in favour of a 'non traditional wedding' - though the happy news won't be officially confirmed to the public just yet.
'They are engaged but they are trying to sort a few things out now, like house hunting for a retreat and other things,' the source told the paper. 'It will be up to them to decide when to announce it as they want to do it their own way, which Her Majesty agrees with.'