Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for the media in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, Monday Nov. 27, 2017. It was announced Monday that Prince Harry, fifth in line for the British... (Associated Press) 
 
 Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for the media in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, Monday Nov. 27, 2017. It was announced Monday that Prince Harry, fifth in line for the British throne, will marry American actress Meghan Markle in the spring, confirming months of rumors. (Eddie... (Associated Press) 
 
 LONDON (AP) — Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will have a May wedding at Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel, Kensington Palace announced Tuesday. 
 
 Windsor Castle, west of London, is one of Queen Elizabeth II's main residences. The 15th-century chapel is as historic but more intimate than Westminster Abbey, where Harry's older brother William married Kate Middleton in 2011. 
 
 Harry, who is fifth in line to the throne, and American actress Markle have been dating for about a year and a half. They announced their engagement on Monday. 
 
 Tuesday's announcement said that the queen would attend the wedding, which will be paid for by the royal family. The exact date was not revealed. 
 
 The announcement added that Markle will be baptized in the Church of England and will become a British citizen, although that will take some time. 
 
 The engagement of Prince Harry and Markle dominated newspaper front pages and morning news shows in Britain on Tuesday, as royal-watchers awaited the details. 
 
 Markle's future sister-in-law the Duchess of Cambridge, who is married to Prince William, said she was "absolutely thrilled." 
 
 "It's such exciting news," Kate said as she visited a museum in London. "It's a really happy time for any couple and we wish them all the best and hope they enjoy this happy moment." 
 
 Prince Charles' wife Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said she was "delighted" her stepson was marrying the U.S. actress. 
 
 "America's loss is our gain," she said. 
 
 Markle's divorced status would once have barred her from marrying the prince in church. Harry's father Prince Charles, who is heir to the British throne, married Camilla in a low-key civil ceremony in 2005 because both bride and groom were divorced. 
 
 Newspapers hailed news of the engagement as a breath of fresh air and symbol of a modernizing monarchy. 
 
 The Daily Telegraph said in an editorial: "A divorced, mixed-race Hollywood actress who attended a Roman Catholic school is to marry the son of the next king. Such a sentence could simply not have been written a generation ago." 
 
 The Daily Mail, which devoted its first 17 pages to the engagement, said the couple would give the royal family "the injection of vigor and exuberance it so desperately needs." 
 
 In the couple's first joint interview Monday, 33-year-old Harry said Markle immediately fitted in with his family. He said when she visited Buckingham Palace to meet the queen, "the corgis took to her straight away." 
 
 The ex-soldier prince and the 36-year-old star of TV show "Suits" revealed that Harry proposed over a roast chicken dinner at his London home, after months in which they tried to keep their long-distance relationship out of the public eye. 
 
 Clearly happy in each other's company, the beaming couple recounted how they met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend, and immediately clicked. 
 
 "The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was sort of confirmation to me that everything, all the stars were aligned, everything was just perfect," Harry said. 
 
 "It was this beautiful woman just sort of literally tripped and fell into my life. I fell into her life." ||||| (CNN) Meghan Markle intends to become a UK citizen, the British royal family has announced, confirming that the American actor's marriage to Prince Harry would take place at Windsor Castle in May next year. 
 
 Kensington Palace said that Windsor, a royal residence west of London, had become "a special place for the two of them." 
 
 A spokesman said Markle would retain US citizenship through the process of becoming a UK citizen but it was "too early to say" if she would retain dual nationality. The process is expected to take several years. 
 
 The wedding is likely to fall after another big royal occasion -- Harry's older brother, Prince William, and his wife, the former Kate Middleton, are expecting their third child in April. 
 
 Prince Harry and Meghan Markle at a photocall to announce their engagement at Kensington Palace in London. 
 
 News of the couple's engagement was announced on Monday and came after months of speculation. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle made their first public appearance as an engaged couple in the gardens of Kensington Palace on Monday afternoon, where Harry told reporters he knew Markle was "the one" from "the very first time we met." 
 
 Their first official joint engagement will take place in the city of Nottingham on Friday, where they will greet members of the public together for the first time before attending an event to mark World AIDS Day. 
 
 After the wedding, Markle will become the fourth patron of The Royal Foundation, a charitable organization set up in 2009 by the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry. 
 
 The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace, the official residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge. One of Markle's two dogs, Guy, is already in the UK, while the other, Bogart, is now with friends of Markle's in Canada. 
 
 A church wedding 
 
 In choosing St George's Chapel at Windsor as the venue, the couple are following in royal tradition. Most recently, the church was the scene of the wedding of Peter Phillips -- son of Princess Anne and cousin to Harry -- who married Autumn Kelly in 2008. 
 
 Although Markle has been married before, that will not pose any obstacle to a church wedding as the Church of England permits divorcees to remarry. 
 
 The last royal wedding involving a divorcee was a civil ceremony rather than a church marriage. Harry's father, Prince Charles, married Camilla Parker Bowles in 2005 in a town hall in Windsor. 
 
 The then Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, agreed the arrangements were "consistent with Church of England guidelines concerning remarriage." 
 
 The Church of England nevertheless allows the remarriage of divorced people "in exceptional circumstances." 
 
 Rules state that divorcees must be asked a series of questions designed to ensure "past hurts" have been healed and mistakes learned from. 
 
 The couple will wed in St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle. 
 
 Although Markle attended a Catholic school as a child, she is not a practicing Roman Catholic, so an Anglican wedding will not raise any denominational questions. Kensington Palace said she would be baptized into the Church of England before the wedding. 
 
 Current Archbishop of Canterbury Justin Welby said Monday he was "absolutely delighted" at news of the wedding. "I have met Prince Harry on a number of occasions and have always been struck by his commitment and passion for his charities, and his immense love for his family," he said in a statement 
 
 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Royals! They're just like us except...no. They're not like us at all. Take a peek at some of the most storied royal weddings from the past 60 years. Princess Madeleine of Sweden and Christopher O'Neill exchange rings during their wedding ceremony in Stockholm on June 8, 2013. Hide Caption 1 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Princess Charlene of Monaco and Prince Albert II of Monaco leave the religious ceremony at the Prince's Palace on July 2, 2011 in Monaco. The Roman-Catholic ceremony follows the civil wedding which was held in the Throne Room of the Prince's Palace of Monaco on July 1. Hide Caption 2 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Britain's Prince William and his wife Kate, Duchess of Cambridge, accompanied by her maid of honor Pippa Middleton leave after the wedding service in Westminster Abbey in central London on April 29, 2011. Hide Caption 3 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Prince Frederik and Mary Donaldson married in Copenhagen, Denmark on May 14, 2004. Hide Caption 4 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Wedding of Prince Laurent of Belgium and Claire Coombs on April 12, 2003 in Brussels, Belgium. Hide Caption 5 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Jordanian Crown Prince Abdullah and his wife Rania on their wedding day in Amman on June 10, 1993. Hide Caption 6 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – The newly wed Prince Andrew, the Duke of York and his wife Sarah Ferguson, the Duchess of York, wave to crowds July 23, 1986 from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in London while Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Mother look on. Hide Caption 7 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Lady Diana and Prince Charles wed on July 29, 1981. Here the prince and princess (wearing a David Emanuel wedding dress, leave St. Paul's Cathedral. Hide Caption 8 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – HRH Princess Anne and captain Mark Phillips stand together during their wedding service at Westminster Abbey in November 14, 1973. Hide Caption 9 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – The newly-wed Princess Margaret, the younger sister of Britain's Queen Elizabeth II, leaves hand in hand with her husband the photographer Antony Armstrong-Jones London's Westminster Abbey on their wedding day May 6, 1960. Armstrong-Jones was later made Earl of Snowdon. When the marriage was officially ended two years later, Margaret became the first royal to divorce since Henry VIII in the 16th century. Hide Caption 10 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Queen Elizabeth II, as Princess Elizabeth, and her husband the Duke of Edinburgh, styled Prince Philip in 1947, on their wedding day. She became queen on her father King George VI's death in 1952. Hide Caption 11 of 12 Photos: Taking the royal plunge Taking the royal plunge – Prince Rainier III marries actress Grace Kelly in a cathedral in Monaco on April 19, 1956. Hide Caption 12 of 12 
 
 News of the engagement prompted hopes that Brits might be granted an extra day off on the day of the nuptials. The wedding of William and Kate was declared a special holiday, as was Charles' wedding to Diana and that of his younger sister Princess Anne. 
 
 But Downing Street has said that there are "no plans" for a special holiday to celebrate the wedding of Prince Harry and Markle. 
 
 It began with a blind date 
 
 The couple opened up for the first time about their relationship in an interview with the BBC's Mishal Husain broadcast on Monday evening. They have previously stayed clear of the public eye, opting for evenings at home instead of nights out to avoid media scrutiny, which has times been none too kind to Markle. 
 
 The two met for a drink in July 2016 on a blind date, brokered by a mutual friend, whose name they would not reveal, but "it was definitely a setup," Markle said. 
 
 A second date was followed by a camping trip to Botswana. "Then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me," explained Harry. 
 
 "We were able to really have so much time just to connect," added Markle, "and we never went longer than two weeks without seeing each other, even though we were obviously doing a long-distance relationship. We made it work." 
 
 It was during a "cozy night" earlier this month at the couple's Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace when Harry proposed, Markle said. 
 
 "It was so sweet and natural and very romantic. He got down on one knee," she said. "As a matter of fact, I could barely let you finish proposing. I said, 'Can I say yes now?'" 
 
 The ring features a stone from Botswana accompanied by two smaller diamonds from the jewelry collection of Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana. 
 
 Harry wanted to include those on the ring, which he designed himself with a yellow gold band, "to make sure she's with us on this crazy journey together."
– Britain's Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will have a May wedding at Windsor Castle's St. George's Chapel, Kensington Palace announced Tuesday. Windsor Castle, west of London, is one of Queen Elizabeth II's main residences. The 15th-century chapel is as historic but more intimate than Westminster Abbey, where Harry's older brother, William, married Kate Middleton in 2011. Tuesday's announcement said that the queen would attend the wedding, which will be paid for by the royal family. The exact date was not revealed, reports the AP. The announcement added that Markle, who CNN notes attended Catholic school but isn't a practicing Catholic, will be baptized in the Church of England prior to the wedding. The church allows divorcees—Markle is one—to remarry. She'll also become a British citizen, though a rep for Markle wouldn't say if she would retain her American citizenship after the years-long process is complete. Prince Charles' wife, Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall, said she was "delighted" her stepson was marrying the US actress. "America's loss is our gain," she said. (Read the story of Harry's proposal here.)