Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's wedding date announced by Palace... and it will be on a Saturday

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding will be on May 19 next year, Kensington Palace has announced.

The Palace revealed the date on Friday. The month and location of the wedding had previously emerged following the couple's engagement last month.

Kensington Palace said in a tweet: "His Royal Highness Prince Henry of Wales and Ms. Meghan Markle will marry on 19th May 2018.

"Today's announcement follows earlier confirmation of the month of the wedding and its location at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle."

May 19 is a Saturday and the same day as next year's FA Cup final.

Prince Harry's older brother the Duke of Cambridge, who is President of the Football Association, usually attends the match and presents the trophy.

But Prince William, who is tipped to be best man, looks likely to be otherwise engaged with wedding duties next year.

Prince Harry and Ms Markle have gone against tradition by choosing a Saturday, while also avoiding the issue of whether the royal celebration should be a bank holiday.

Royal weddings usually take place on a weekday. The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge wed on a Friday and the Queen on a Thursday.

The May wedding will also have been picked to give Kate time to recover after the birth of her third child, which is due in April.

Palace aides have already said that the prince and Ms Markle's wedding will "reflect their characters and personalities" and be a moment of "fun and joy".

They will say "I do" in the historic surrounds of the Windsor Castle's 15th century St George's Chapel.

Ms Markle, who is to become a British citizen, is being both baptised and confirmed ahead of the religious ceremony.

The Queen will be there, as will the rest of the royal family, along with Ms Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland.

Prince George and Princess Charlotte look set take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid.

The couple, who have enjoyed a 16-month whirlwind romance after being introduced by mutual friends in London, revealed they were engaged on November 27.

After the wedding, they will live in Nottingham Cottage at Kensington Palace.

Two years before they began dating, Prince Harry told a friend on a night out that Ms Markle was his "ideal woman".

In their first interview after revealing their engagement they gave the world a glimpse of their life as a couple.

They revealed how Harry popped the question during a night in “cooking a roast chicken” at their cottage in the grounds of Kensington Palace.

They also told how they holidayed together in Botswana and “camped out under the stars” after just two dates in London.

Prince Harry, 33, said he believed the 36-year-old bride-to-be and his late mother Diana would have been “best friends” and “thick as thieves”.

Meanwhile Ms Markle called her meeting with the Queen in October at Buckingham Palace "incredible" as Prince Harry added the corgis "took to her straight away".

Ms Markle will join the Queen and other senior members of the royal family for Christmas at Sandringham, it was confirmed earlier this week.

She and Prince Harry will be seen in public with other royals when they attend the traditional Christmas Day church service on the Queen’s private estate in Norfolk.

They will attend the morning service at St Mary Magdalene Church on December 25.

The move is a break with tradition as the invitation to spend Christmas with the royal family is not usually extended to partners until they are married.

It was previously reported that Prince Harry had asked the Queen to make an exception in order for Ms Markle to join the family for Christmas.