Royal Author Reveals The Reported Reason Meghan And Harry Married So Quickly

When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, Duke and Duchess of Sussex, announced they'd be getting married only six months after getting engaged, rumors started flying.

News of the couple first broke in October of 2016 after a source told Express Harry was "besotted" with the American, who at the time was starring in the TV show "Suits." According to the source, Harry was the happiest they had ever seen him after meeting Meghan. The couple had reportedly planned on taking their time to get to know each other, but within two years of meeting, the couple was married and expecting their first child.

At the time, the quick engagement was explained away with concern about Prince Philip's health. Katie Nicholl, Harry's royal biographer, told ET Online that the Duke of Edinburgh's age was a major factor in the timing of the wedding. "He's incredibly close to his grandfather," Nicholl explained, "and, being 96, Harry thought it was a great thing to [have] the wedding sooner rather than later, so his grandfather could be there, fit and healthy."

According to Town and Country Magazine, there were also other events that needed to be taken into consideration when Prince Harry and Meghan were choosing their wedding date. Queen Elizabeth's birthday in June, which includes a variety of official events Buckingham Palace must work with the government to coordinate, as well as her yearly summer retreat to Balmoral in Scotland.

But a new royal biography has revealed these weren't the only reasons Meghan and Harry rushed to the altar.

There was a lot of blowback for how quickly Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding date was set.

In 2021, Lady Victoria Hervey spoke with Closer Magazine on the subject, saying she knew from the start the couple would end up back in America (via Express). According to the former love interest of Prince Andrew and 6th Marquess of Bristol, the couple spent too much time traveling during the early days of their relationship instead of getting to know each other. Plus, in her opinion the "courtship was way too short."

How quickly Prince Harry's relationship was developing with Meghan was an issue that caused a rift between Harry and his brother, Prince William according to People. Multiple sources told the magazine that the already tenuous relationship between the brothers fractured more when Harry told the family he wanted to propose to Meghan less than a year after meeting her.

Tina Brown, author of "The Diana Chronicles" and the forthcoming "The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor," told Independent the consensus she received after speaking to over 120 royal insiders was that while the rest of the royal family adored Meghan, William felt she wouldn't adjust to royal life. Not only would she have to give up her life and career in America, but sources told Brown there was also concern she would be isolated, with no time to build a new group of friends in the United Kingdom.

Prince William was also reported to have been worried about Prince Harry's mental health, reports the Independent. The future king was concerned Harry wouldn't be able to handle the attention he and Meghan were getting, especially the more the media focused in on attacking and harassing her.

It's clear that Meghan's safety and privacy were things Prince Harry worries about deeply. Shortly after the news of their dating broke, Prince Harry made a statement asking the media to stop hounding and harassing Meghan, per Town and Country. "Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her," the statement read. "This is not a game," the statement goes on to say, "it is her life and his."

But the media firestorm around the future duchess of Sussex continued regardless of Prince Harry's pleas. Tina Brown's new book, "The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor," alleges that it was the media's hunger for Meghan being a major factor in a quick engagement, per Independent. Once they were married, Meghan — an American-born commoner — would be entitled to the same police protection as Harry, who had been a working royal at the time. 

But getting married didn't stop the media's frenzy over the couple, or the harassment of the Duchess of Sussex. There was even a coordinated Twitter hate campaign against the duchess. If anything, since getting married, everyone's wanted to see and know more about the couple, not less.