Prince Harry has informed the Queen and other members of the Royal Family, according to Clarence House. 

The wedding will take place in Spring next year after the couple became engaged in London earlier this month. 

The couple confirmed they have moved into Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace. 

A "delighted" Prince Charles confirmed the news and Prince Harry is said to have the "blessing" of Meghan Markle's parents. 

The announcement means that Meghan is to become the Duchess of Sussex, or alternatively she could reject the title and become ‘Princess Meghan’.

The much-anticipated news was confirmed by the Prince of Wales in a brief statement issued by Clarence House.

It read: "His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms Meghan Markle.

"The wedding will take place in Spring 2018. Further details about the wedding day will be announced in due course.

"His Royal Highness and Ms Markle became engaged in London earlier this month.

"Prince Harry has informed Her Majesty the Queen and other close members of his family.

"Prince Harry has also sought and received the blessing of Ms Markle's parents.

"The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace."

The couple will appear for a photo call at Kensington Palace later today. 

They will also take part in a broadcast interview to be aired on TV screens this evening to mark the start of their very public life together. 

Meghan's parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, also issued a statement to wish the couple a "lifetime of happiness". 

They said: “We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry. Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. 

"To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents. 

“We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together.”

Prince Harry's brother and sister-in-law Kate also issued a statement saying: "We are very excited for Harry and Meghan. It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together." 

The Queen and Prince Philip also issued their congratulations, saying:"The Queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness". 

Prince Charles also offered his reaction during the start of a series of engagements in Poundbury in Dorchester, Dorset, which is built on Duchy of Cornwall land.

The Prince of Wales said he is "thrilled" and "very happy indeed" after the loved up couple announced their engagement.

He told reporters the news was "very good", adding: "Thrilled for them both. They'll be very happy indeed". 

The prince had to obtain the monarch's permission to wed Ms Markle - thanks to the Succession to the Crown Act 2013, which requires the first six people in the line to the throne to seek the monarch's consent.

Meghan is a divorcee. In 2011 she wed film producer Trevor Engelson after dating him for six years, but the pair split amicably less than two years later.

Harry and Meghan made their first official public appearance together at the Invictus Games in Toronto - where the star is based - in September.

When news of their relationship first broke in October 2016, smitten Harry was described as being happier than he had been in years.

Theatre dates followed, along with romantic African holidays and expeditions to see the Northern Lights, and a shopping trip to buy a Christmas tree together for Harry's Kensington Palace pad.

As a newly-engaged couple, Harry and his bride-to-be may be invited to spend Christmas with Queen and the rest of the royals at Sandringham this year after sharing a whirlwind romance. 

It was Ms Markle who offered the biggest insight into their affair when she was interviewed by Vanity Fair magazine in September 2017 and revealed they were in love.

She said: "We're two people who are really happy and in love. 

"We were very quietly dating for about six months before it became news and I was working during that whole time, and the only thing that changed was people's perception.

"Nothing about me changed. I'm still the same person that I am, and I've never defined myself by my relationship.

She also spoke out about Prince Harry’s fears she will be hounded the same way the paparazzi harassed his mother Princess Diana.

Their relationship, which blossomed after they met two years ago, quickly became so serious Prince Harry, 32, was forced to intervene on the media frenzy which followed.

She told Vanity Fair: “I don’t read any press. I haven’t even read press for Suits. The people who are close to me anchor me in knowing who I am. The rest is noise.”