Harry and Meghan: Relationship Musings

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by angieuk

I think after an Engagement announcement we're looking at a wedding 3/4 months afterwards. December may be interesting re Engagement.

I hope they bring back the Honeymoon carriage drive which seems to have gone out of fashion now, where they tied balloons to the carriage on the way to the Railway Station, and the bride changed into a suit or dress and hat.

Why only 3 to 4 months? Between announcement (not engagement itself) and wedding of William and Catherine it was 5 1/2 months. So anything up to 6 months (probably at least 3 months) seems reasonable.

For William and Catherine we saw some pictures of the day after when the left Buckingham Palace (leaving by helicopter if I am not mistaken) so I wouldn't expect anything more than that for Harry and his bride.

[Abbigail]

Considering that Meghan would be moving from one country to another, I really wouldn't expect her and Harry to have a shorter engagement than Will and Kate. Even if they have already started planning, it's still going to be a big transition for Meghan. A longer engagement would allow her more time to adjust before the big day. So yes, I would say a December announcement is very much a possibility.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Abbigail

Considering that Meghan would be moving from one country to another, I really wouldn't expect her and Harry to have a shorter engagement than Will and Kate. Even if they have already started planning, it's still going to be a big transition for Meghan. A longer engagement would allow her more time to adjust before the big day. So yes, I would say a December announcement is very much a possibility.

I still think the wedding will be latter part of 2018, exactly the reason you said. I just don't see it happening in the first half of 2018.

[Pranter]

I was thinking March/April until the Cambridge baby announcement. Now I am thinking May/June..maybe July.


LaRae

[Abbigail]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

I still think the wedding will be latter part of 2018, exactly the reason you said. I just don't see it happening in the first half of 2018.

I seriously doubt they will wait any longer than July 2018. A wedding in the latter half of 2018 means an engagement announcement wouldn't come until mid 2018, which in turn means Meghan will either wait to move to London or move shortly after filming is over and...do what exactly? An announcement in December or January allows her to both adjust to the transition and actively plan her future. She can't really do that if she's still officially Harry's girlfriend and honestly, I'm not sure what the incentive is for her to make such a huge move without a ring on her finger.

[Pranter]

It's all worked out behind the scenes already IMO. They are just waiting to announce until after she's done filming and to tie up loose ends.


LaRae

[scriptgirl]

Found this article:

After a few false alarms, in Meghan Markle we may have actually found a 'modern princess'

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Abbigail

I seriously doubt they will wait any longer than July 2018. A wedding in the latter half of 2018 means an engagement announcement wouldn't come until mid 2018, which in turn means Meghan will either wait to move to London or move shortly after filming is over and...do what exactly? An announcement in December or January allows her to both adjust to the transition and actively plan her future. She can't really do that if she's still officially Harry's girlfriend and honestly, I'm not sure what the incentive is for her to make such a huge move without a ring on her finger.

Of course they'll have an understanding when she moves. However, it'll only be a longer engagement than the Cambridges' 6 months. There are a few things going on here that wasn't the case for Kate. She'll have to make a move to a foreign country after a late November wrap up for Suits. It probably won't even be right away since you have Thanksgiving, which presumably it's the last one she'll spend with her family and friends in US. She'll probably get all the things in order in December. Then it's Christmas, she'll probably travel for that too. It's really January by the time she finally gets to settle down a bit. There is also the citizenship issue they'll have to straighten out first. Believe it or not, announcement in March is actually not waiting that long. This couple seems to be the type that'll do things right and not rush through, so I'm sure they'll take enough time to sort all of it out.

Moving is hard, moving your own life across the Atlantic is harder.

[Somebody]

Originally Posted by Abbigail

I seriously doubt they will wait any longer than July 2018. A wedding in the latter half of 2018 means an engagement announcement wouldn't come until mid 2018, which in turn means Meghan will either wait to move to London or move shortly after filming is over and...do what exactly? An announcement in December or January allows her to both adjust to the transition and actively plan her future. She can't really do that if she's still officially Harry's girlfriend and honestly, I'm not sure what the incentive is for her to make such a huge move without a ring on her finger.

I fully agree! It doesn't make sense to wait any longer than necessary. If they've decided they want to spend the rest of their lives together (with all at entails because of Harry's position as member of the BRF), i.e., to get married, the only reason to postpone is for some specific reason - such as finishing what you are doing in a good way instead of running away of what you have build up over the years. There truly is no advantage to give up her life in Canada to sit around for X more months just being his girlfriend instead of being his fiancée planning for a wedding and actively getting to know her new royal role. They are old enough to know what they want, so better go ahead and make it happen.

And based on personal experience (and Meghan has experience as well!), moving to a different country is not as hard as some people (especially those who have never done so - it's mainly a lot of additional paperwork) make it out to be... Nonetheless, moving to a different country does require some commitment of 'why' you would be moving. For example, I would expect a 'normal' Canadian to need a visa (most likely a work visa - so which company is going to sponsor Meghan?) to be even allowed to move to the UK. An engagement and future wedding to a British prince (the BRF can be her sponsor ), seems to be exactly that commitment that makes moving to the UK a logical step (not the other way around).

[loonytick]

I was just looking around at the lengths of engagements around the European/UK royals for the past generation or so. It's not a huge sample group, but it does seem as though the marriages involving foreign, non-royal spouses tend to be a few months longer than what is otherwise the norm for that nation's royal family. That makes sense, since there are citizenship issues to work out and probably a feeling that a longer adjustment period will help prepare the nation for this person from a different culture (and the incoming spouse for the culture of their soon-to-be adopted nation).

Also, the BRF's engagement length doesn't seem to be quite as set in stone at the 3/4 month length as I'd assumed. For example, Anne had a 6 month long engagement to Mark Phillips...and let out the word that she was marrying Timothy Laurence just a week or two before their wedding. Sophie and Edward were publicly engaged for six months, too.

[Osipi]

Sometimes I think that with Meghan having to relocate to the UK once an engagement is announced, the actual wedding will be expedited so that the only place that Meghan has to relocate to will be her home with Harry.

If these two know where they're going and the road is pretty well already mapped out, why extend the time getting there? For all we know, plans are already in place for a royal wedding and details are being worked out as we speak and once an announcement is made, a wedding in three months would be feasible. I do not expect an announcement though until Meghan is done with her contract to Suits which, I believe, ends in November.

"The" dress could already have been designed by Meghan and she has someone she really trusts making it up for her. That's one thing I'm expecting. That Meghan designs her own wedding dress. Solves the problem of the nationality of the designer she uses

[Abbigail]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

Of course they'll have an understanding when she moves. However, it'll only be a longer engagement than the Cambridges' 6 months. There are a few things going on here that wasn't the case for Kate. She'll have to make a move to a foreign country after a late November wrap up for Suits. It probably won't even be right away since you have Thanksgiving, which presumably it's the last one she'll spend with her family and friends in US. She'll probably get all the things in order in December. Then it's Christmas, she'll probably travel for that too. It's really January by the time she finally gets to settle down a bit. There is also the citizenship issue they'll have to straighten out first. Believe it or not, announcement in March is actually not waiting that long. This couple seems to be the type that'll do things right and not rush through, so I'm sure they'll take enough time to sort all of it out.

Moving is hard, moving your own life across the Atlantic is harder.

Traveling for holidays doesn't preclude her from making the move to the UK. She won't be doing all the work herself. I'm sure she will have plenty of help, namely from Harry and his people. And it's not as if she has to have everything in order within a month or two. Yes, the big things like paperwork for a visa will need to be prioritized (I suspect that's already in motion) but less important or urgent aspects would simply be a part of the transition within the next 6 months or so.

If these are two who have indeed decided that they are ready to take the next step, then I wouldn't view it as rushing through anything. I think we've already seen that they aren't really interested in delaying the big moments. If the reports are to be believed and KP planned the Invictus Games appearances, then I don't see much reason to doubt that they could also be in the process of planning an engagement announcement before the year is over.

Originally Posted by Somebody

I fully agree! It doesn't make sense to wait any longer than necessary. If they've decided they want to spend the rest of their lives together (with all at entails because of Harry's position as member of the BRF), i.e., to get married, the only reason to postpone is for some specific reason - such as finishing what you are doing in a good way instead of running away of what you have build up over the years. There truly is no advantage to give up her life in Canada to sit around for X more months just being his girlfriend instead of being his fiancée planning for a wedding and actively getting to know her new royal role. They are old enough to know what they want, so better go ahead and make it happen.

Agreed. I'm inclined to believe that this is how they see it as well.

[jacqui24]

I'm not going to quote since there are so many. But for the timeline of an early wedding, can it be done? Sure. But yeesh, let the girl take a breath. Can she have people expedite her move while she's travelling for holidays? Sure, but why the rush? It's stressful enough to go through airports during holiday season, and then I imagine her calendar will be filled with visiting friends as well. It's just a lot. It'd overwhelm the most prepared. She'll have plenty of time to be overwhelmed with things once she's the Duchess of X, and it's really a job with no retirement. It's best to take her sweet time.

[Osipi]

Actually, around the holidays may be a prime time to relocate and take care of things necessary. In fact, it would be a prime time to permanently move to the UK if everything in Canada is over and done with. She could fly to London on a one way ticket and that's that.

Its the time of the year where the BRF has its own downtime and there may not be many demands on Harry to do engagements and he could devote his time to the "big move". I fully expect Meghan to move into Nottingham Cottage so other personal possessions and furniture and whatnot can really be transfered overseas with no real rush to it or put into storage or perhaps even sold if she's not overly attached to them.

These two have done things their own way and at their own pace and from the looks of things, they did things very well planned out. I think basically that all we're waiting on now is Meghan's contract to Suits to expire and from there on in, things will move fast and like clockwork.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Osipi

Actually, around the holidays may be a prime time to relocate and take care of things necessary. In fact, it would be a prime time to permanently move to the UK if everything in Canada is over and done with. She could fly to London on a one way ticket and that's that.

Its the time of the year where the BRF has its own downtime and there may not be many demands on Harry to do engagements and he could devote his time to the "big move". I fully expect Meghan to move into Nottingham Cottage so other personal possessions and furniture and whatnot can really be transfered overseas with no real rush to it or put into storage or perhaps even sold if she's not overly attached to them.

These two have done things their own way and at their own pace and from the looks of things, they did things very well planned out. I think basically that all we're waiting on now is Meghan's contract to Suits to expire and from there on in, things will move fast and like clockwork.

That's Harry's schedule. I'm considering Meghan's schedule as she's likely to be in LA with her family and friends. Moving to a different country isn't just about moving, it's about seeing some people that you probably won't see on a regular basis anymore as you'll be living in different countries. And in her case, she can't just travel back to LA or Toronto anytime she wishes, especially during holiday season.

[Abbigail]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

I'm not going to quote since there are so many. But for the timeline of an early wedding, can it be done? Sure. But yeesh, let the girl take a breath. Can she have people expedite her move while she's travelling for holidays? Sure, but why the rush? It's stressful enough to go through airports during holiday season, and then I imagine her calendar will be filled with visiting friends as well. It's just a lot. It'd overwhelm the most prepared. She'll have plenty of time to be overwhelmed with things once she's the Duchess of X, and it's really a job with no retirement. It's best to take her sweet time.

Who's to say that this isn't Meghan's plan though? This is the larger point I'm making. I think it's more than plausible to believe that they have already decided that an engagement will be coming in the next few months.

Roya Nikkhah was one of the first to state outright that Meghan would be at Invictus, while many fans fretted over all the hype and Meghan overshadowing the athletes. Well guess what, not only did we see Meghan at the opening and closing ceremony but we saw her mom too AND she went to an official engagement. That alone tells me that Harry and Meghan do not share some of the same concerns as royal watchers. And now, we have Roya saying that a wedding is expected next summer. It's more than likely she got that info from someone reliable, whom she trusts and who'd have some idea of Harry and Meghan's intentions.

[Dman]

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[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Abbigail

Who's to say that this isn't Meghan's plan though? This is the larger point I'm making. I think it's more than plausible to believe that they have already decided that an engagement will be coming in the next few months.

Roya Nikkhah was one of the first to state outright that Meghan would be at Invictus, while many fans fretted over all the hype and Meghan overshadowing the athletes. Well guess what, not only did we see Meghan at the opening and closing ceremony but we saw her mom too AND she went to an official engagement. That alone tells me that Harry and Meghan do not share some of the same concerns as royal watchers. And now, we have Roya saying that a wedding is expected next summer. It's more than likely she got that info from someone reliable, whom she trusts and who'd have some idea of Harry and Meghan's intentions.

Not one is to say that's not her plan, but same is true for this being her plan. It's just common sense based on other things that we do know. Nobody talked about her mom being there because well, no one even thought about her mom. We were too busy guessing and being excited about seeing them. Although most of us guess Doris probably has met Harry even before this. I'm not saying they aren't getting to that point, in fact I'm in the camp that they are moving forward and very serious. It's just the timeframe and logistics.

[Osipi]

Originally Posted by jacqui24

That's Harry's schedule. I'm considering Meghan's schedule as she's likely to be in LA with her family and friends. Moving to a different country isn't just about moving, it's about seeing some people that you probably won't see on a regular basis anymore as you'll be living in different countries. And in her case, she can't just travel back to LA or Toronto anytime she wishes, especially during holiday season.

When it comes to the holidays, if these two people are newly engaged, they will be spending it together. It would be much easier for Doria to fly to the UK for the holidays and perhaps even helping Meghan make the transitional move. Her father lives in Mexico and it would be easier also for him to travel to the UK and they could all be together.

Anyone that Meghan holds close that live in LA are not people she sees on a "regular basis" and to be honest, I think she'll get the chance to return to LA as much in the future as she has done while living in Canada. I don't think its a priority to assume that Meghan would go to LA for the holidays. To be honest, if they're engaged by the holidays, I fully expect Meghan and her family to be guests at Amner Hall.

[jacqui24]

Originally Posted by Osipi

When it comes to the holidays, if these two people are newly engaged, they will be spending it together. It would be much easier for Doria to fly to the UK for the holidays and perhaps even helping Meghan make the transitional move. Her father lives in Mexico and it would be easier also for him to travel to the UK and they could all be together.

Anyone that Meghan holds close that live in LA are not people she sees on a "regular basis" and to be honest, I think she'll get the chance to return to LA as much in the future as she has done while living in Canada. I don't think its a priority to assume that Meghan would go to LA for the holidays. To be honest, if they're engaged by the holidays, I fully expect Meghan and her family to be guests at Amner Hall.

That just doesn't make sense. Harry will be at Sandringham at Christmas, and Meghan and her family would not be invited. That's just the rule. It's pretty terrible to just leave the three of them who came half way around the world somewhere on the Estate in someone else's home. It doesn't make sense. And I highly doubt Meghan will be back in LA as often she'd like or she used to. She'll have royal duties and as part of royal family, she'd be criticized if she visits LA and Toronto too often for personal reasons. It's not fair, but it is the way it is. There were criticism of the Cambridges spending Christmas with the Middletons last year due to the Queen and Prince Phillip's age. Imagine the outcry if Meghan and Harry decides to spend it in LA. So it probably is her last Christmas in her hometown for at least awhile. It is sentimental.

Don't get me wrong, if they announce an engagement earlier, I'd be elated. I just think there is more to sort out than people are thinking here. And BTW, my view on her spending Christmas in LA is that would happen regardless of an engagement announcement. She wouldn't be at Sandringham as the rest of the royal family would be.