Prince Harry to marry girlfriend Meghan Markle

She said the pair were enjoying a "special" time together, adding: "I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time."

Ms Markle, 36, may not have been a familiar name in Britain until recently, but in the US she is better known for her role as Rachel Zane in TV legal drama Suits.

The Los-Angeles born actress, whose father was a lighting director and mother is a social worker and yoga instructor, grew up in what has been described as the "Black Beverly Hills".