Here is a timeline of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s relationship:

July 2016 – The pair meet in London through friends and become an item.

Prince Harry
Harry in the summer of 2016 when he met Meghan (Chris Jackson/PA)

October 30 2016 – News breaks that Prince Harry is dating star of US legal drama Suits, Meghan Markle.

November 8 2016 – Protective Harry attacks the media over its “abuse and harassment” of his girlfriend.

Meghan Markle in Suits
Meghan Markle playing Rachel Zane in Suits (Shane Mahood/USA Network/PA)

December 13 2016 – Harry and Meghan are spotted buying a Christmas tree together in Battersea Park.

January 6 2017 – Harry whisks Meghan off on a romantic break to see the Northern Lights in Norway.

February 2 2017 – The pair are spotted holding hands on a date night in London amid claims Meghan has “virtually moved in” with Harry at Kensington Palace.

March 4 2017 – They attend the wedding of one of Harry’s best friends Tom Inskip in Jamaica, sparking more predictions Harry is about to propose.

April 7 2017 – Meghan announces she is ending her lifestyle blog thetig.com which is taken as a sign she is preparing for life as a royal.

May 7 2017 – They are photographed kissing in public for the first time at Cowarth Park polo club in Ascot, Berkshire.

May 20 2017 – Meghan joins Harry at Pippa Middleton’s wedding reception but stays away from the church service.

September 5 2017 – The actress graces the cover of US magazine Vanity Fair and speaks openly about Harry for the first time, revealing: “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.”

September 24 2017 – Meghan makes her first appearance at an official engagement attended by Harry when she attends the Invictus Games opening ceremony in Toronto, Canada – although the pair sit about 18 seats apart.

Invictus Games 2017
Meghan Markle attends the Opening Ceremony of the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada (Danny Lawson/PA)

September 25 2017 – Hand in hand and beaming with delight, Harry and Meghan make their first official public appearance together at Invictus’s wheelchair tennis.

Invictus Games 2017
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle watch Wheelchair Tennis at the 2017 Invictus Games (Danny Lawson/PA)

September 30 2017 – The prince is seen kissing his girlfriend on the lips inside a darkened VIP box at the Invictus closing ceremony.

The pair were joined by Meghan’s mother Doria Ragland.

Closing ceremony at the Invictus Games
Meghan and Harry at the Invictus Games Closing Ceremony in Canada (PA)

October 19 2017 – It emerges that Harry has taken the Suits star to meet his grandmother the Queen, whose permission they need to marry.

November 21 2017 – Meghan is spotted in London, getting a facial – prompting speculation she is preparing for an engagement announcement.

November 27 2017 – Clarence House announces the engagement.

Harry and Meghan pose for pictures at Kensington Palace, and record a television interview.

They reveal how Harry proposed over a roast chicken during a cosy night in.

Harry and Meghan's engagement
Harry and Meghan in the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace, London, after the announcement of their engagement (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

November 28 2017 – The wedding venue – St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle – is confirmed. Aides reveal Meghan intends to become a British citizen and will be baptised and confirmed ahead of the ceremony.

December 1 2017 – Harry and Meghan carry out their first joint engagement in Nottingham as the actress takes to the royal role with ease.

Harry and Meghan in Nottingham
Harry and Meghan during their first official engagement in Nottingham (Victoria Jones/PA)

December 15 2017 – The wedding date is announced as May 19 2018.

December 20 2017 – Meghan joins Harry at the Queen’s traditional pre-Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace.

Queen’s Christmas lunch 2017
Harry and Meghan arriving for the Queen’s Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace (Jonathan Brady/PA)

December 21 2017 – The couple’s romantic engagement photos by celebrity photographer Alexi Lubomirski are released.

December 25 2017 – Meghan celebrates Christmas with the royals, joining them at church in Sandringham on Christmas Day – a first for a royal fiancee.

The royals' Christmas Day Church service
The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry arriving to attend the Christmas Day morning church service in Sandringham, Norfolk, 2017 (Joe Giddens/PA)

December 27 2017 – Harry guest-edits BBC Radio 4’s Today Programme, and says Meghan had a fantastic Christmas with the royals, adding: “It’s the family I suppose that she’s never had.”

December 31 2017 – The couple fly to France to spend New Year together in the French Riviera.

January 9 2018 – The couple visit youth-orientated radio station Reprezent FM in Brixton, south London. Meghan shuts down her dormant social media accounts.

January 18 – On an away day to Cardiff, Harry and Meghan wow the crowds, visit Cardiff Castle, are given love spoons, and play Jenga in a community centre.

Harry and Meghan in Cardiff
Harry and Meghan watch a game of Jenga during a visit to Star Hub in Tremorfa (Geoff Pugh/The Daily Telegraph/PA)

January 25 – Harry heads to Botswana on a solo private fact-finding mission to learn about the latest developments in wildlife conservation.

February 1 – Meghan attends her first official evening engagement with Harry at the Endeavour Fund awards.

February 13 – Meghan wears tartan for her first official visit to Scotland on a series of engagements with Harry in Edinburgh.

Royal visit to Edinburgh
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet Pony Major Mark Wilkinson and regimental mascot Cruachan IV at Edinburgh Castle (Andrew Milligan/PA)

February 22 – Police investigate white powder and racist material sent to St James’s Palace.

February 28 – The couple take part in their first joint engagement with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge at a Royal Foundation forum. Meghan shows her support for the #MeToo and Time’s Up Campaigns during an on-stage Q&A.

Royal Foundation Forum
Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and the Duchess and Duke of Cambridge during the first Royal Foundation Forum in central London (Chris Jackson/PA)

March 6 – Meghan is baptised and confirmed into the Anglican faith during a secret ceremony led by the Archbishop of Canterbury at the Chapel Royal.

March 8 – Harry and Meghan carry out engagements in Birmingham on International Women’s Day.

Harry and Meghan visit Birmingham
The couple talk to sisters Jean Dickinson and Irene Gould on a walkabout during a visit to Millennium Point in Birmingham (Victoria Jones/PA)

March 12 – Meghan attends her first official engagement with the Queen when she joins senior royals at the Commonwealth Day service in Westminster Abbey. She sings the national anthem and tells schoolchildren she is “very very excited” about her wedding.

Commonwealth Day 2018
The Queen accompanied by the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and Meghan Markle during the Commonwealth Service at Westminster Abbey (Paul Grover/Daily Telegraph/PA)

March 23 – On a trip to Belfast, Meghan jokes when shown baby products “I’m sure at some point we’ll need the whole (lot)”.

Royal visit to Northern Ireland
Sinead Murphy from Shnuggle baby products shows Harry and Meghan a baby bath during a visit to Catalyst Inc science park in Belfast (Niall Carson/PA)

March 29 – Meghan reportedly heads back to the US to see her mother Doria for Easter and to talk wedding plans.

April 6 – Harry and Meghan meet Invictus hopefuls trying out for the UK team at Bath University.

Invictus Games Sydney 2018 trials
Harry and Meghan meet Invictus hopefuls at the University of Bath Sports Training Village (Kirsty Wigglesworth/PA)

April 11 – US ambassador Robert Wood Johnson describes the wedding as a symbol of the special relationship between Britain and America, and Harry launches the Walk of America expedition.

April 16 – Harry is made a Commonwealth Youth ambassador by the Queen and says Meghan is hugely excited to be working with him on his Commonwealth duties.

April 19 – Meghan supports LGBT issues saying it is about “human rights” as she attends a Youth Forum reception with Harry as part of the Commonwealth Heads of Government meeting

Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting
Harry and Meghan during a reception for delegates from the Commonwealth Youth Forum in London (Yui Mok/PA)

April 20 – The pair join Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson at a Women’s Empowerment reception, in support of a pledge to offer the world’s poorest girls schooling.

April 23 – William and Kate’s baby son Prince Louis is born. Harry and Meghan attend a memorial service celebrating the life and legacy of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence, 25 years after his death.

April 25 – Harry and Meghan attend a dawn service, and a ceremony in Westminster Abbey to mark Anzac Day.

ANZAC Day commemorations
Harry and Meghan attend the Dawn Service at Wellington Arch to commemorate Anzac Day in London (Toby Melville/PA)

May 14 – Meghan’s father Thomas Markle looks set to miss the wedding amid reports he staged photos for the paparazzi and suffered a heart attack. Meghan appeals for “understanding and respect” for her father.

May 17 – Meghan confirms her father will not be attending her wedding, saying he needs to focus on his health.

May 18 – Bride-to-be Meghan says she is feeling “wonderful” as she arrives with her mother Doria at Cliveden House Hotel the night before the wedding.

Royal Wedding preparations
Meghan and her mother Doria Ragland arriving at Cliveden House Hotel to spend the night before her wedding to Harry (Steve Parsons/PA)

May 19 – Harry and Meghan marry at St George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, and become the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

Royal wedding
The new Duke and Duchess of Sussex kiss outside St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle after their wedding (Jane Barlow/PA)

May 22 – The newlyweds carry out their first official engagement as a married couple, attending a Buckingham Palace garden party in honour of the Prince of Wales’s patronages in his 70th birthday year.

Buckingham Palace garden party
The Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall and the Duchess of Sussex listen as the Duke of Sussex speaks during a garden party at Buckingham Palace (Dominic Lipinski/PA)

June 9 – The Duchess of Sussex takes her place on the Buckingham Palace balcony for the first time during the Trooping the Colour celebrations.

Trooping the Colour
The Queen, the Prince of Wales, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge with Princess Charlotte, Savannah Phillips and Prince George, on the balcony of Buckingham Palace (Yui Mok/PA)

June 11 – Kensington Palace announce that the duke and duchess will make an official visit to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand in the autumn.

June 14 – Meghan undertakes her first joint engagement with the Queen on a day trip to Cheshire, and body language experts say the pair got on famously.

June 16 – The couple are guests at the wedding of Harry’s cousin Celia McCorquodale.

June 18 – Thomas Markle says he expects his daughter and Harry will try for children soon, and that Meghan has wanted a child for a long time.

June 19 – Harry and Meghan join the carriage procession and present a trophy at Royal Ascot, where winning jockey Frankie Dettori takes the chance to kiss the duchess on the hand.

Harry and Meghan at Royal Ascot
Jockey Frankie Dettori kissed the Duchess of Sussex on the hand as he collects his trophy (John Walton/PA)

June 26 – Harry and Meghan join the Queen at the Young Leaders awards ceremony at Buckingham Palace.

Young Leaders Awards Ceremony
The Queen with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex at the Queen’s Young Leaders Awards Ceremony (John Stillwell/PA)

June 30 & July 1 – Meghan watches Harry play polo at Coworth Park, Ascot.

July 5 – The couple attend the Your Commonwealth Youth Challenge reception at Marlborough House in London with Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland QC.

July 9 – Meghan and Harry join the Cambridges for Prince Louis’s christening at the Chapel Royal.

July 10 – The royals mark the centenary of the RAF, attending a service at Westminster Abbey, a presentation of a new Queen’s Colour on the forecourt of Buckingham Palace, and a flypast.

RAF centenary
The Countess of Wessex, the Prince of Wales, the Duchess of Cornwall, the Queen, the Duchess of Sussex, the Duke of Sussex, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge on the palace balcony for the RAF flypast (Paul Grover/Daily Telegraph/PA)

July 10-11 – The pair pay an official visit to Dublin, and carry out engagements at  Croke Park and the Famine Memorial.

Royal visit to Dublin – Day Two
The Duchess of Sussex turns around in surprise after Walter Kieran, 3, reached out to touch her hair during her visit with the Duke of Sussex to Croke Park in Dublin (Brian Lawless/PA)

July 17 – The couple visit the Nelson Mandela centenary exhibition at the Southbank Centre in London.

July 26 – The duchess watches the duke play polo in the Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup at the Royal County of Berkshire Polo Club in Windsor, and the couple share a kiss at the trophy presentation.

Sentebale ISPS Handa Polo Cup
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex kiss at the Polo Cup in Windsor (Steve Parsons/PA)

August 4 – Meghan spends her 37th birthday at the wedding of Harry’s friend Charlie van Straubenzee.

Charlie van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks wedding
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex attending the wedding of Charlie van Straubenzee and Daisy Jenks (Joe Giddens/PA)

August 16 – The pair holiday with George and Amal Clooney in Lake Como in Italy.

August 29 – Harry and Meghan watch a gala performance of the musical Hamilton, in support of Sentebale.

September 4 – The couple attend the annual WellChild Awards – a cause close to Harry’s heart. Meghan gives a rose to one of the winners Matilda Booth, and the seven-year-old makes Harry a ‘pinky promise’ that she will never stop smiling.

WellChild Awards – London
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex meet seven year old Matilda Booth during the annual WellChild Awards in London (Victoria Jones/PA)

September 6 – The duke and duchess attend the 100 Days to Peace gala marking the centenary of the end of the First World War.

October 12 – Harry and Meghan return to St George’s Chapel for Princess Eugenie’s wedding to Jack Brooksbank just five months after they pledged their love for one another in the same Windsor Castle venue.

Princess Eugenie wedding
Harry and Meghan returned to St George’s Chapel on Friday just five months after their own wedding (Owen Humphreys/PA)

October 15 – The duke and duchess touch down in Australia ahead of their first royal tour as a married couple.

October 15 – The duke and duchess are “very pleased” that Meghan is expecting a baby in the spring of 2019, Kensington Palace announces.