Why Prince Harry Bringing Meghan Markle to His Friend’s Wedding Is Such a Big Deal
Harry and Markle are spotted out and about in London after having dinner at the Soho House. Later that month, she returns to Toronto, where she films the USA legal drama Suits, after spending weeks with Harry at his London home, Nottingham Cottage, at Kensington Palace.
Meghan Markle was Prince Harry‘s date to the wedding of his longtime friend Tom Inskip in Jamaica this weekend. But this isn’t your average wedding date.
Royal relationships are typically kept out of the public eye, especially in the early stages. For Prince William and Princess Kate, their public debut as a couple came in March 2004 on the slopes in the Klosters when she joined the royal family on a ski trip.
While Harry and Markle have been photographed together a few times — on the streets of London in the midst of date nights — the Caribbean wedding marks the first semi-public event they’ve attended together.
But what really marks the seriousness of a royal relationship, is how they arrive to the event. In the years Will and Kate dated before they became engaged, they attended the same weddings multiple times, but they rarely arrived at the event together, or even sat by each other.
That changed, however, at the October 2010 wedding of William’s friend Harry Meade. William and Kate rolled up to the festivities side-by-side, their faces plastered with smiles and sporting tans from a recent trip to Kenya. Of course, we now know that on that trip to Kenya, William proposed!
At Friday’s wedding, it wasn’t clear how Markle and Harry arrived together but they did stay close to each other and even sat together at the reception. Harry served as an usher during the actual wedding ceremony.
Harry and Markle’s relationship has already moved at lightning speed. The couple, who met at the start of last summer, has spent time together in London and Toronto, where Markle films Suits. And they went on a romantic vacation to Norway this winter.
RELATED VIDEO: Meghan Markle Is Prince Harry’s Date at Friend’s Caribbean Wedding
Harry bringing a date to a wedding is an important step. He’s only brought one previous girlfriend to a wedding. His former longterm girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, was a guest at William and Kate’s 2011 wedding. But since Harry was occupied with his best man duties, they did not enter the church together or sit together. His last girlfriend, Cressida Bonas, never attended a wedding with him, though she did attend one of his official royal engagements.
Even if they don’t walk in side-by-side (or hand-in-hand!), Harry has already made quite a statement in having Markle join him at the wedding. Inskip is one of Harry’s closest friends. They attended Eton College together as teens and he was known as Harry’s “wingman” when the two were regulars at London night clubs in their younger years. And it’s a destination wedding. The wedding party is thought to be staying at the Round Hill Hotel and Resort in Montego Bay.
