Meghan Markle And Prince Harry Make First Official Appearance As A Couple

It took over a year and countless wedding rumors, but Prince Harry and Meghan Markle finally made their relationship official — to the public, at least. The actress made an appearance at the Invictus Games Opening in Toronto on Saturday to support her royal beau. While they were not sitting right next to each other, it was obvious that they were together.

Meghan sat right next to long-time friend Markus Anderson, who allegedly introduced the couple in the first place. Prince Harry, on the other hand, sat next to first lady of the United States Melania Trump in the VIP box. Just a row down from Harry was also Justin Trudeau, Canada’s prime minister.

The 36-year-old actress and the 33-year-old prince started dating over a year ago, after meeting through mutual friends back in July, 2016, as Meghan candidly confirmed in an interview with Vanity Fair.

Since they first met, the international press has been speculating on their romance, going as far as linking them to wedding rumors. Even Meghan’s older half-brother, Thomas Markle, Jr., joked about the potential wedding earlier this week.

But as far as confirming their romance, Meghan’s appearance today and her interview with Vanity Fair for their October issue are the first real signs that they are, in fact, a couple.

“It’s really simple. We’re two people who are really happy and in love,” she said.

Meghan Markle cheers Prince Harry as he opens Invictus Games in Toronto https://t.co/hpYqFmD1ic pic.twitter.com/4KdXEQeqdq

— Ottawa Citizen (@OttawaCitizen) September 25, 2017

“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.”

The Invictus Games is a special competition for injured, wounded, and sick servicemen and women, in a similar fashion to the paralympic games. This is the event’s third year, as it first started back in 2014 in London. Since then, they have also been held in Orlando, Florida, in 2016, and are set to be held in Sydney, Australia, in 2018.

For this edition of the games, Prince Harry gave an empowering opening speech.

“You have all come such a long way… Now you are here on the world stage, flags on your chests, representing your countries again, supporting your teammates and looking up into the stands and into the eyes of your families and friends. You are all winners.”

[Featured Image by Rachel Murray/Getty Images]