Meghan Markle's character was written out of Suits a year ago, as show bosses predicted her love story with Prince Harry would last. The actress played lawyer Rachel Zane in the legal drama, and was in the midst of filming when she met Harry. Show bosses consequently made the decision to write her out, as creator Aaron Korsh explained: "I knew from a year ago that this relationship was burgeoning. And I had a decision to make because I didn't want to intrude and ask her, 'hey what's going on and what are you going to do?'"
He added on BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "So collectively with the writers, we decided to take a gamble that these two people were in love and it was going to work out. What we decided to do (was to) say, 'look, I would rather have good things happen to Meghan in her life' - which would likely mean her leaving the show. So let's plan on that and it's much easier to undo that, if it came to it, than to just plan on her staying forever and then finding out she's going to go."
Meghan played lawyer Rachel Zane in Suits
On Monday, Clarence House announced that Meghan, 36, and Prince Harry, 33, are engaged to be married. The bride-to-be also confirmed that she has quit acting, and would not be returning to Suits or take on any other future showbiz projects. In the couple's first joint interview with the BBC, Meghan explained: "I just see it as a change… It's a new chapter, right? And also keep in mind I've been working on my show for seven years. So we were very, very fortunate to be able to have that sort of longevity on a series, and for me once we hit the 100 episode marker I thought, you know what, I have ticked this box and I feel really proud of the work I have done there."
The actress with her on-screen husband Patrick J. Adams
Meghan will become a full-time royal and join the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge and Prince Harry's royal foundation as its fourth patron. She and Harry will carry out their first joint engagement on Friday, visiting the Nottingham Academy to meet children benefitting from the Full Effect program, and visiting Nottingham Contemporary for a Terrence Higgins Trust World AIDS Day. The actress has also ended her work with charities and organisations she previously supported, to start her royal role with a "clean slate".