Moving through the ranks! Prince Harry has been appointed as the Captain General of the Royal Marines after his grandfather Prince Philip stepped down from the role after serving for 64 years.
“The Queen has approved the appointment of Prince Harry as Captain General Royal Marines in succession to The Duke of Edinburgh,” Kensington Palace tweeted in a statement on Tuesday, December 19, noting that Prince Harry has already begun preparing for the position. “Prince Harry accompanied The Duke in his final duty as Captain General today, as Their Royal Highnesses received the incoming and outgoing Commandants General @RoyalMarines at Buckingham Palace.”
Prince Philip, 96, who was appointed to the position by Queen Elizabeth’s father, King George VI, in 1953, made his final public appearance with the Royal Marines in July.
The announcement comes shortly after the 33-year-old royal and Meghan Markle confirmed their engagement. Prince Harry and the Suits alum, 36, will wed on May 19, 2018, Kensington Palace revealed on Friday, December 15.
“His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle will marry on on 19th May 2018,” the palace tweeted. “Today’s announcement follows earlier confirmation of the month of the wedding and its location at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle.”
Us Weekly exclusively reported in October that the couple were going to announce their engagement soon. Hours after the news broke on November 27, the pair sat down for their first joint interview together.
“It happened a few weeks ago, earlier this month, here at our cottage — just a standard typical night for us,” Prince Harry recalled of the proposal. Added Markle: “Just a cozy night, we were roasting a chicken. It was so sweet and very romantic. He got on one knee.”
The future spouses are currently residing at Nottingham Cottage in London’s Kensington Palace as they plan their special day. They will also celebrate Christmas with Queen Elizabeth and other members of the royal family before taking a trip together. “They plan to go on a vacation together for more than a week,” a source recently told Us. “Expect them to come back tanned, refreshed and ready to take on a very busy 2018.”
