Prince Harry Engaged

Prince Henry of Wales has announced his engagement to American actress Ms. Meghan Markle. The couple has known each other for sixteen months after being introduced by a mutual friend in London.

Harry, 33 and Meghan, 36 are to be married in the spring of 2018 and more details of the wedding will be released in due course.No doubt they will have to plan the wedding date around the Duchess of Cambridge's pregnancy due date in April. Catherine was overdue with her first two babies so this will be tricky. 

Prince Harry presented Ms Markle with an engagement ring made of two diamonds from his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales plus a diamond from Botswana where the couple has holidayed.

Meghan and Harry were photographed by the media in the sunken garden at Kensington Palace. This is the same garden that was transformed this last summer with a beautiful collection of Diana's favourite flowers to mark the 20th anniversary of her death.

The couple will live in Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace which was once the home of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge before they renovated Apartment 1A. It is expected that an apartment at the Palace will be made available to Prince Harry and then modified to suit his needs.

As this blog chronicles the lives of the children of both Princes William and Harry, no doubt we will be covering a few more royal babies in the coming years.

Charlotte Loves To Dance

Princess Charlotte of Cambridge loves dancing her parents revealed on Wednesday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry were visiting the Sunken Garden at Kensington Palace.

The garden has been specially planted with the favourite flowers of the princes' late mother Diana, Princess of Wales. It was 20 years on Thursday since the Princess was killed in a car accident in Paris at the age of 36. Her sons were 15 and 12 at the time.

Representatives of charities close to the heart of the late Princess were present. Director of the English National Ballet, Tamara Rojo was speaking with Catherine about dance when the Duchess revealed that Princess Charlotte is an avid dancer, "She absolutely loves it."

Charlotte who is also an keen horse rider seems to be a very busy and active two year old. Growing up at the family's country home Amner Hall has no doubt been a wonderful thing for Charlotte and big brother George. 

The Cambridges will now be based primarily at their Kensington Palace apartment. Prince George will be starting school this coming Thursday in Battersea, London and William and Catherine are stepping up their royal roles as the Queen and Prince Philip age. Charlotte too is thought to be starting nursery school later this year.

New Poignant Photo

Kensington Palace posted this photo on their twitter account today. A new shot and very sweet. The boys along with the Duchess visited the Sunken Garden at the Palace today.

Today The Duke of Cambridge and Prince Harry will pay tribute to their mother Diana, Princess of Wales. pic.twitter.com/zkfhfPxcsY

— Kensington Palace (@KensingtonRoyal) August 30, 2017

Diana's Dresses

There is so much comment surrounding the 20th anniversary of Diana, Princess of Wales's death on 31st August. 

Although this blog is a chronicle of Diana's grandchildren of today and possibly of the future, I was a fan from the age of 10. So I recently travelled to London and saw the Diana exhibition at Kensington Palace and the gorgeous sunken garden planted in white to honour her. 

Here are a few of the iconic dresses I saw on display. The one that I found most moving was the Bill Pashley designed brown tweed outfit that the new princess wore to a photocall at Balmoral during her honeymoon. 

For me, it brought back all the memories of the early marriage, babies, walkabouts, Shy Di and adoring crowds. Waiting every morning for the daily papers to see if "Di" had been on an engagement the day before. 

I saw the princess in Australia many times and a few times in London. I was lucky enough to shake her hand and have a quick chat in Melbourne. I felt her death like that of a friend although of course she wasn't. But that is the connection she made with the everyday person. Which is why she was so loved and mourned with such sadness.

Of course, there were stunning evening gowns ( Elvis dress and the Travolta dress!) and later dresses that the princess wore in those Mario Testino photos. 

By then the glow of the early years had gone but a new, confident woman was emerging to take on politically fraught causes such as landmine eradication. Prince Harry has picked up that cause. 

Here are some photos from the exhibition. Also shots of the sunken garden that William, Catherine and Harry will visit on the 30th August.