Almost a year after Prince Harry confirmed his relationship with US actress Meghan Markle in an unprecedented open letter, the pair have taken perhaps the most important step in any royal romance: making their public debut as a couple at an official event.
Suits star Meghan joined Harry at the wheelchair tennis semi-final of the Invictus Games, sitting side by side with her boyfriend and appearing very much at ease in what could be considered her first ‘royal’ engagement. The couple were relaxed and affectionate, and were pictured holding hands as they left the venue: hardly major levels of PDA, yet for the etiquette-conscious royals, this signals a subtle break from tradition (the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, though considered a more laid-back and ‘modern’ royal couple, are rarely seen holding hands in public).
It had long been rumoured that Meghan, who was casually dressed in a pair of jeans by Mother and a crisp shirt by Misha Nonoo (fortuitously named ‘The Husband'), would appear alongside her boyfriend at the Invictus Games, a debut that will kick-start the gradual introductory period that typically precedes an official engagement announcement. Last week, the Suits star was a guest at the Invictus opening ceremony, discreetly seated several rows away from her boyfriend, and it's thought that she will continue to attend events with Harry while he is in her adopted home city of Toronto.
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‘It would be great to have someone else next to me to share the pressure, but you know, time will come and whatever happens, happens,’ Harry said in a candid 2015 interview, comments which make his newfound happiness with Meghan seem all the more touching.
How does Meghan and Harry's public debut measure up to that of other royal couples? Find out below...
Prince William and Kate Middleton
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Kate and William have been together since their student days at St Andrew’s University, but it took five years for the now-Duchess to attend an official event (William’s passing out parade at Sandringham) with her boyfriend – and even then, the couple were not photographed together. Two years later, in 2008, Kate was pictured at William’s side as they attended his RAF ‘Wings’ ceremony at Cranwell.
Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer
Charles and Diana didn’t make any public appearances until their engagement was announced in February 1981 (having first met several years earlier, when Charles was dating Diana’s older sister…) Engagement photos showed the soon-to-be Princess of Wales displaying her sapphire ring (the so-called ‘Commoner’s Diamond’) to the camera. Shortly after, the couple’s first public appearance came at a black-tie benefit event at Goldsmith’s Hall.
Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten
Throughout their courtship, the then-Princess Elizabeth and Lieutenant Philip Mountbatten tried to keep their romance low-key by not dancing with each other if attending the same parties (which all quite endearingly quaint by today’s standards). Though they were photographed together at the wedding of one of Elizabeth’s ladies-in-waiting, Philip managed to fly under the radar, described in the papers as ‘a figure largely unknown to the British public.’ Once their engagement had been announced with official photos on 1st July 1947, they made their debut appearance at a garden party in Buckingham Palace at which (per The Telegraph) the Queen-to-be looked ‘flushed and radiant with happiness.’
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