The Duke and Duchess of Sussex celebrate the third anniversary of their engagement, how have their lives changed?
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have become parents and have changed country of residence
After a year and a half of low-key romance, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle got engaged. On November 27 they made this news official, which was received with joy among all the British. The grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and the protagonist of Suits shared their happiness at this important step with a romantic perched in a place full of meaning: the White Garden in memory of Diana of Wales. In this corner of Kensington Palace, the Prince acknowledged that he knew he wanted to share his life with the Californian actress from the first day they met thanks to mutual friends. Since that day that made the UK (and the rest of the world) dream, the couple's lives have changed a lot. We review in pictures the highlights of these last three for the Dukes of Sussex.
Six months after announcing their engagement, the son of the heir to the British throne married Meghan Markle. The couple said "yes, I do" on May 19, 2018 in a religious ceremony held in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, where they were accompanied by the British Royal Family and well-known faces such as the Beckham couple, the Clooney or Serena Williams, close to her. Later they made a tour in a wedding carriage to feel closely the affection of all the British, who lived this day with emotion and intensity. The celebration continued at Frogmore House, where they enjoyed a great party.
"Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are pleased to announce that the Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the spring of 2019. Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and we are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public ", said the statement in which the most anticipated news was announced. On October 15, 2018, five months after their wedding, Meghan and Harry began their sweet wait. Three days before, during the marriage of Eugenia de York, there was already speculation about the pregnancy of Carlos de Inglaterra's daughter-in-law because of the look she chose.
May 6, 2019 is a date marked in red on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex calendar. That day their first child came into the world, for whom they chose the name Archie-Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. At two days old, the little one was presented to the media at Windsor Castle, at St.George's Hall (where his wedding reception was held in May 2018). In these first images being three, the baby rested peacefully wrapped in a blanket in the arms of his father, who did not stop looking at him with pride. "I am incredibly proud of my wife. Every father and mother will say that their baby is absolutely wonderful, but this little thing is to die for," said the Prince.
On the day Archie was two months old, he was baptized in the Castle's private chapel by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the highest authority in the Anglican church, who married the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and also baptized the three children of the Dukes of Cambridge. Meghan and Harry opted for a completely private and family celebration in which they did not even reveal which people they had chosen as godparents of their child. Of course, they complied with the tradition of making an official pose with the British Royal Family in the Green Drawing Room.
In September 2019 Archie accompanied his parents on a tour of South Africa. A trip that will forever form part of the child's history since it was there that he starred in his first official act -click here to see all the images of that important day-. Laughing, calm and very awake, he attended an intimate meeting with Archbishop Desmond Tutu (Nobel Peace Prize in 1984) in Cape Town.
The Sussex's visit to South Africa in September 2019 marked a turning point. During this trip they made a documentary for ITV in which they were honest like never before. During this broadcast they confessed to the journalist Tom Bradby their complicated relationship with the press. In fact, after these interviews they decided to take a six-week sabbatical that changed them forever. And it is that after this break that in principle was to get away from the media focus temporarily, nothing was the same again.
During the weeks of rest, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their child moved to Vancouver, where they also spent Christmas in the company of her mother, Doria Ragland. Canada is a very meaningful place for Meghan since she lived there for seven years (it is where Suits was filmed) and has many friends. With one of the beautiful landscapes of this country as a backdrop, the brother of William of England posed with his child to congratulate 2020. An image that did not presage all the changes that were coming.
In the first days of January, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex returned to London to resume their official agenda. Some engagements that did not last long as they made public their historic decision to stop being 'senior' members of the British Royal Family. In a statement they announced that they would gradually abandon their real obligations to gain financial and professional independence.
On March 9, Commonwealth Day, Meghan and Harry met for the last time with the rest of the Royal Family at Westminster Abbey. Then the countdown to her new life began, beginning on the last day of March. Since then they have stayed away from the obligations of the Crown and thousands of kilometers from London, where they had until then fixed their residence.
After saying goodbye to their obligations to the Windsors, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex left Canada and settled in Los Angeles, where they spent a time living in Tyler Perry's house to later acquire their own home. A new home in which they maintain a quiet life and away from the media spotlight as was their wish.
In September the Duke and Duchess of Sussex debuted together on American television, specifically on ABC. Sitting on a wooden bench in an outdoor setting, Harry and Meghan encouraged people to exercise their right to vote in the US presidential elections. This was the first time that Archie's parents were seen on the small screen after the Megxit became effective, although they had made virtual appearances in the middle of the pandemic like the one I did in August, when they appealed to young people to avoid cyberbullying
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex posed for TIME magazine in October and participated in TIME100 Talks, virtual talks in which different experts participate each time to provide solutions to urgent global problems
On November 8, Armistice Day in the UK, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex made a surprise visit to a Los Angeles cemetery to pay their particular tribute to all those who lost their lives on the battlefield of the First World War. It is the last public image of the couple, which made the news again this week, when Meghan recounted that she had suffered a miscarriage this summer. The Duchess made this shocking account in a New York Times column.
