Prince Harry 'introduces girlfriend Meghan Markle to the Queen over tea at Buckingham Palace'

Prince Harry introduced his actress girlfriend Meghan Markle to the Queen over tea at Buckingham Palace, according to reports.

The prince, 33, and the Suits actress, 36, reportedly spent an hour having tea with Her Majesty in her private sitting room at the palace.

It comes as rumours swirl about an imminent engagement announcement from the couple, who met 18 months ago at the Invictus Games in Florida.

The pair arrived at the royal residence in central London in a car with blacked-out windows just before 5pm last Thursday, according to the Daily Mail. Prince Philip was reportedly not there.

Sources told the paper that Harry had spoken to his grandmother over the summer at Balmoral to arrange an introduction between her and Ms Markle.

The US actress is said to be a regular visitor to the Prince’s Kensington Palace home, and was spotted on a shopping trip on Kensington High Street last November.

Despite their relationship being public knowledge for more than 12 months, the couple were only pictured together for the first time in September.

The couple could be seen holding hands, laughing and smiling as they watched wheelchair tennis at the Invictus Games in Toronto, Canada.

They were casually-dressed and looked relaxed as they sat by the court, finally giving royal fans a long-awaited sighting of their relationship.

Days later - in an unusually outspoken interview for a royal partner - Ms Markle told Vanity Fair: "We're a couple. We're in love."

Kensington Palace did not comment.