Britain's Prince Harry to marry U.S. actress Meghan Markle in 2018

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain’s Prince Harry is engaged to his U.S. actress girlfriend Meghan Markle with the marriage due to take place in the spring of 2018, his father Prince Charles announced in a statement on Monday.

FILE PHOTO: Britain's Prince Harry (R) sits with girlfriend actress Meghan Markle to watch a wheelchair tennis event during the Invictus Games in Toronto, Ontario, Canada September 25, 2017. REUTERS/Mark Blinch/File Photo

Harry, 33, currently fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Markle, 36, best known for her role in the U.S. TV legal drama “Suits”, became engaged earlier this month, the statement issued by Clarence House said.

“Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty The Queen and other close members of his family. Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle’s parents,” the statement said.

The couple met in July 2016 after they were introduced through friends.

The prince publicly confirmed their relationship months later in a rebuke to the media, which had been intruding into Markle’s private life, but it was not until September that they made their first public appearance together at the Invictus Games in Toronto, a sports event for wounded veterans.

“We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents,” Markle’s parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland said in a statement.

“We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.”