this is the pictures of the couple. this is the shot from the bbc helicopter above kensington palace here in central london. we will stay with these pictures and continue to wait for the couple to marriage. our entertainment correspondence lizo mzimbo is outside the palace here with me. there are going to be a lot of people asking a lot of questions in the days to come has meghan markle may be well—known to viewers in the united states, but perhaps less over here. not necessarily that much that we know about her as an actress, her life in the entertainment industry. we want to find out a lot more. absolutely, i think there is a generational divide, the series that she is on is aired on netflix here in the uk, it is a popular legal drama where she plays rachel zane, pa rt drama where she plays rachel zane, part of the ongoing narrative is her relationship with one of the lawyers there, whether they will get together or not. in the united

states, it is aired on the usa network there, the older generation may not be watching netflix as much as their children, nieces or nephews, they will have been inundated with a lot of clips from suits in the last couple of hours and over the next few days. it is a huge break for her. and over the next few days. it is a huge breakfor her. she had a typicaljobbing actress life in the united states, a lot of small roles, waiting and hoping for that big break to come along and for someone to realise what a talented actress she was, a dollop of luck that you needin she was, a dollop of luck that you need in a competitive industry. that came along a few years ago when she started doing suits, it was an immediate big hit, a lot of big audiences around the world. she just finished filming, we understand it has been reported, the seventh series of that. it is widely reported that she will now be leaving. i'm sure that we will find out more about that later. she

appeared in the early 2000 pull in an episode of general hospital, then had a line of dialogue which she spoke about in an online interview, she said that she was in a role called century city, she had one line of dialogue and was scared of getting it wrong, and she was with future 0scar getting it wrong, and she was with future oscar winner by 0la davies in a production. people waiting to see exactly what she could do and suits has been very big for her. and here they are, prince harry and meghan markle, this will be their first official photo shoot as an engaged couple. i heard some cheering, that may well be from the crowds, there are quitea may well be from the crowds, there are quite a lot of people gathered on the gates outside of kensington panis, people getting as close as they can. —— kensington palace. it's

unlikely they will answer any questions thrown at them but let's have a listen... congratulations from all of us, how are you both feeling? we are thrilled. meghan, how are you feeling? tell us, how did you propose? umm. .. that will come later, i think. was it romantic? very. it was the very first time we met. show us the ring? thank you. lovely. cheering

well, a brief glimpse of the ring and a brief wave. there is a crowd ofa and a brief wave. there is a crowd of a couple of hundred people over to the right—hand side of me, gathered and pressed up against one of the gates here at kensington palace. a lot of cheering from them. there are a few people with very long lenses in that crowd! perhaps official photographers but a lot of members of the public out with their cameras, with their phones, cheering and trying to take photos. they will be fairly distant shots, but i can see a lot of flashbulbs going off from that crowd. a lot of cheering andi from that crowd. a lot of cheering and i am hoping that viewers watching bbc news now would have been able to hear the answers from

prince harry and his bride—to—be, rather better than i could. from where we are standing it was impossible to hear what they said in response to questions from journalists. i noticed that one of the questions was, was it romantic? i doubt he said no! we will try and replay those pictures but the first images, both of them beaming, as you would expect, and everybody wishing them congratulations. a lot of yelling and cheering from the few hundred people gathered here outside of kensington palace. that lovely shot of the palace and off the park here in central london from our helicopter, flying overhead. so, meghan markle, and actress born and brought up in los angeles in california, she has been living in toronto over the last few years, not least because that is where the television series suits is filmed. that'll give her a taste of british

weather, at least living in toronto. i thought that was and making them do their photocall outside today but that was the decision that was taken! they that was the decision that was ta ken! they both that was the decision that was taken! they both looked extremely happy, as you would expect. the news was announced officially this morning that prince harry is to marry meghan markle. they've been dating for less than two years, they met in london over the summer of last year. all we know so far, in terms of specifics, is that the wedding will be in the spring of 2018. that is what clarence house has told us. spring of 2018 and that means, my goodness, the first few months of next year will be very busy indeed in the royal household as the duke and duchess of cambridge are expecting their third child next april, so there is the assumption and on speculation that the wedding will be before the duchess of cambridge gives birth in april. so, these are the latest pictures,

brand—new pictures through of prince harry and his fiancee. meghan markle, 36 years old and until now and actress in the american television series suits. 0ur entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba has been watching the developments over the last few hours with me. well, we have reflected on it already today, lizo, but this is a young woman who is very used to photocalls and photo shoots like this. it has been her life blood over a few years now? yes, it's a different league now but she is not an used to the cameras and media attention. today was something that was not as daunting for her, sure it was not as daunting for her, sure it was to a degree but not as daunting to her as it may have been for people from a different background coming in. we saw some big smiles from both of them as they came out. this is something that they've talked about, exactly how they wa nted

talked about, exactly how they wanted to do it. a lot of cheering from the crowds behind us at the gates. a celebrity for many years but this is a completely different level. lizo, thank you. i mentioned moments ago that i could not actually hear what they were saying in response to the questions from journalists in the walled garden there. apparently he said that yes, it was romantic, we were hoping that would be the answer! we would be in trouble if it wasn't but apparently prince harry told journalists that he is absolutely thrilled at the news today, thrilled to be getting married to his american girlfriend, meghan markle. and what is also interesting, we have spoken about her success over the last few years in that television series, she has really used her fame and the status that the role has given her to do quite a lot of charity work for some time now. we have listened to interviews with people she has worked alongside in the un projects

she has been involved with. she has taken the opportunity to use her fame for something positive, not just since she met him. she has done this for quite a few years. she ta kes this for quite a few years. she takes the opportunity to talk about the plight of women and girls in different parts of the world. yes, she falls very much into the category of a celebrity who feels they have a privileged place and they have a privileged place and they should use their celebrity to make a difference in other areas, not just within television make a difference in other areas, notjust within television or film. many people would draw parallels between her and harry, maybe that is what has brought them together. harry, as well as his brother william, and the duchess of cambridge have worked very hard with their chosen charities, whether it is mental health or veterans, and this is something that, on the surface, appears to be a shared interest for both of them, using their position in society or in the world of celebrity to make a difference for other people. as you say, it started a long time ago. for

her, and i'm sure it will continue in the future. you would imagine it is something that they could build on and she will be at a whole other level again and they can use their position now, she can use her position now, she can use her position now, she can use her position now to really publicise issues close to her heart, as we have seen prince harry doing. you mentioned their mental health charities and the most recent pictures we have had of this young couple were at the invictus games. that is something prince harry has been a driving force behind. yes, overin been a driving force behind. yes, over in toronto in september, those pictures of them there, they are both people who want to try and use what they do in their lines of work 01’ what they do in their lines of work or in the position is that they have been born into two genuinely make a difference. not all people, particularly in the world of celebrity, managed to do that or are that interested in doing that. i'm

sure it has warned people's hearts for her. there is a cliche for you! there will be plenty of cliches today, it is inevitably that kind of day. today, it is inevitably that kind of day- happy today, it is inevitably that kind of day. happy news for many people but yes, it lends itself to that! all we know about the wedding is that it is in spring next year, that's as much as we know. we do not know when in terms of the specifics, and we don't know where. my goodness, for the photographers, and entertainment and celebrity journalists, photographers, and entertainment and celebrityjournalists, one would imagine that this would be an exciting time because, perhaps a few more famous faces at that wedding then we may have seen at previous royal weddings? perhaps, then we may have seen at previous royalweddings? perhaps, obviously, she is a very successful television and film actress. who knows? some of her cast members from suits may come over and people she has worked within the past. harry is a very well—connected young man, there's

another cliche! it will gather a lot of interest. more details will come out in the next few weeks and months as to when the wedding will happen. we are safe in saying that there will be a big turnout of familiar faces, people will be looking forward to seeing that. lizo mzimba, thank you very much for now. our entertainment correspondent, thank you. these are the live images from the helicopter here at kensington palace, quite a few hundred people here, putting on an estimate, there are people all around us here at kensington palace today, quite a few hundred have gathered, they are trying to hold their camera phones up trying to hold their camera phones up to the gates here, when that photocall was taking place because they wanted to get their snap of the couple today. prince harry and meghan markle, their engagement was announced this morning. this report, first of all, from our royal

correspondent, nicholas witchell. they've known each other for rather less than 18 months and they've done their best to remain out of sight of the media. this was an exception when they were seen hand—in—hand at the invictus games in toronto earlier this year. but now they are to be married with the wedding planned for the spring of next year. the news was given in a statement from clarence house at ten o'clock. his royal highness prince henry of wales and miss meghan markle are engaged to be married. news of the engagement has been greeted with pleasure within the royal family, the queen and the duke of edinburgh who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week said they were delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness. those who have seen the couple together say they are very much in love. that much was confirmed recently by meghan markle herself, in an interview with vanity fair magazine she declared, ‘we are a couple, we are in love.‘ for harry, the engagement brings to an end the bachelor life which he has led and enjoyed for a good many years. whilst all the time seeking someone with whom he could settle down and

start a family. twice it had seemed he had found the right person, chelsea davey, born in zimbabwe, educated in britain was his girlfriend for six years up to 2010 and then there was cressida bonas, a young actress from an aristocratic british family who was with harry for two years until 2014. in both cases the relationships foundered at least in part because of the intense media scrutiny. that scrutiny may be something meghan markle is better prepared to deal with. wow, you're pretty. good, you've hit on me, you can get it out of the way that i'm not interested. as an american actress with several high—profile roles, she is used to the public spotlight. beyond her acting career there are significant other dimensions to meghan markle's life. i'm smart and i know... she's described herself as a strong woman of mixed—race. her father is of irish descent, her mother is an african—american. she's been active in humanitarian campaigns and is a

un advocate for the empowerment of women. i am proud to be a woman and a feminist. for harry, an engagement finally offers the prospect of the personal fulfilment which at times has seemed elusive. as any girl would ever tell you it's, oh my god, he's a prince... this was him in a us television interview in 2012. look at me, i'm 27 years old and not so much searching for someone to fulfil the role but obviously finding someone that would be willing to take it on. harry has finally found that special person. we're going to look at privacy and harassment law... one of the couple's immediate challenges will be to find some privacy. in a statement soon after the relationship became public harry said, this isn't a game, it is his and miss markle's life, a life which in her case, is about to take a remarkable change of direction

as she prepares tojoin the british royal family. nicholas witchell, bbc news. here at kensington palace, just a few more details coming through about the ring. we've got some details about that. also, crucially, this was something important that i could not here because we saw lovely pictures from the photo shoot but we could not hear anything. it's worth telling you that one of the things that prince harry is said to the gathered journalists was that he knew he wanted to marry meghan the first time he met her. that's a very important thing to mention! and that was a pretty short photocall but very touching, what are your thoughts today? it's a happy day, when it comes to his relationship with meghan, he is private, she was

slightly reluctant to do that photocall but he did his best. they we re photocall but he did his best. they were there for half a minute or so it seems. he said it was love at first sight. she showed the ring to wedding photographers, there were about 50 or 60 there, quite daunting, and cold! yes, that will soon get la out of meghan markle's system! that there was no kiskonen he didn't want to give them that shot. i'm sure we will get that on the wedding —— there was no kiss. it isa the wedding —— there was no kiss. it is a busy spring in the royal calendar. we have the royal baby, 110w calendar. we have the royal baby, now there is a royal wedding, and the commonwealth games. it is a busy time for the royals. is it a fair assumption that the wedding would be before the duchess of cambridge has her next child? you wouldn't want to

attend a wedding if you are breast—feeding and going through all of that, one would assume? it's hard to say, it's when all of the royal family are in the right position, really. i would have thought that perhaps it would be good for kate if it is after the baby is born. we could be looking at made, not such a congested time for the royal family. more details on that to come, we are told. your thoughts about the bigger picture here, a lot of talk about that she is american and has been married before. that is all great for a modern royal family, married before. that is all great for a modern royalfamily, isn't it? isn't that positive and the way it should be in a modern relationship now? she is mixed race, american and an actress. very glamorous. it would give great impetus to the royal brand, the uk brand, no doubt of that. she has the looks and the attitude of a cover girl. my feeling is that they are a very good match, in terms of all of the charity work they have done together, and i think

they have done together, and i think they will be a bit freer than william and kate, that would be good for the media and there will be more finding engagements, perhaps. that said though, she has reflected a lot already, she has done a lot of charity and un work, she has done that for some time. equality for women and girls is something dear to her heart. that is striking and something she would want to continue with, it is perfect for the position she will enjoy next year. they will be ringing the bells. whenever a member of the royal family lends themselves to charity work, i'm sure she will think long and hard about the causes that she wants to continue with. she will have to play a supporting role with prince harry on commonwealth visits on behalf of the queen, this will be new to her andi the queen, this will be new to her and i would imagine when the wedding ta kes and i would imagine when the wedding takes place, the queen would make prince harry a royal duke and

therefore she would be a royal duchess. quite exciting times i think, and for our friends across the pond in america, they are getting very excited about this as they really do have an american princess! and digicam duchess of ware, do we know where the title maybe? —— and egypt and the duchess of where? there is sussex, which is free, and you could be the duke of clarence. robert jobson from the london evening standard, thank you very much, it is good to see you. now, here at kensington palace, i think we may see those images again. and the photo shoot that robert had just run over to us from. there were no official questions but a couple of questions thrown at them by

journalists, as you would expect. let's hear what prince harry had to say... congratulations from all of us, how are you both feeling? umm. .. thrilled! inaudible how are you feeling, megan mcardle meghan? how did you propose? that will come out in due course? was it romantic? very! when did you know that you were in love? the very first time that we met. can you show us first time that we met. can you show us the ring, please? thank you. so, prince harry knew that she was the one the minute he met her, that is what he has told journalists today. the wedding is going to be in spring of next year. we have spoken a lot

about the charity work and her work with the united nations, that meghan markle has done for a few years now, using her position as a reasonably well—known actress in the us and using herfame well—known actress in the us and using her fame to well—known actress in the us and using herfame to champion well—known actress in the us and using her fame to champion causes that she feels passionately about. she has also been involved in other projects as well. let's talk more about her charitable work and what it is that drives her in that field. kate robertson has joined it is that drives her in that field. kate robertson hasjoined me, the founder of one young world, a growing charity, can you tell us what your connection with meghan markle is? is the leading forum for young leaders from across the world, meghanjoined young leaders from across the world, meghan joined us in young leaders from across the world, meghanjoined us in 2014 young leaders from across the world, meghan joined us in 2014 to council on the stage of the convention centre in dublin. i had been introduced to her through various contacts, introduced to her through various co nta cts, i introduced to her through various contacts, i was interested as i saw her speech on un women. i thought she was a famous face and that would

be interesting for young leaders, not knowing or being certain of how good she would be on a panel or speaking at a question and answer session as freely that she was so eloquent and so erudite. she was just wonderful and remarkable. so, from your perspective, you have staged so many events for one young world, you have seen to big names... we have seen all of them! was this your sense that this was genuinely coming from her? that she wanted to talk about inspiring younger people and this was something that came from her heart? yes, she was doing gender equality and it was absolutely the real deal. it was not your average actors stepping up and speaking about gender equality but it was the real deal. extremely well expressed, as i said, but very forthright. very calm and very

confident. very un—celebrity. remarkable. that is striking and therefore, your sense would be, i appreciate that here we are all speculating today that she is passionate about this and these kinds of causes, she will want to continue to champion them, if she possibly can, in her new role? we hope so, we are very much hoping that she will continue in some role with us. she is exactly what you would want. i cannot think that she would want. i cannot think that she would back away from doing that kind of work. and certainly not now. she is going to have an even greater platform, by next week she will be a member of the biggest platform? there is the queen and the pope and thatis there is the queen and the pope and that is about it. you would have her back at one young world? in a heartbeat, she is so easy to deal with, clear and straightforward. heartbeat, she is so easy to deal with, clearand straightforward. i think our whole community, there are

10,000 of them now in our community and everyone is chuffed and delighted. what can you say? go, harry! thank you very much. kate robertson, thank you so much, the founder of the organisation 0ne young world, they have a conference every year where they bring together inspiring young people from different countries all over the world. that is where kate robertson met meghan markle and heard her speak and was clearly, from everything she was saying, was very impressed by her. well, the reaction here in the uk, but of course plenty in the united states as well. meghan markle, born and brought up in california, in los angeles, and the american television networks have had a thing or two to say about all of this today. our media correspondent david sillitoe has had a look at both sides of the pond at the reaction to the news of this royal engagement... prince charles was out this morning looking at community

and green initiatives. the first topic was of course... congratulations, sir, what do you think about the engagement? thank you, very thrilled, thank you very much, for both of them, i hope they will be very happy indeed, that is all i can say. the prime minister offered her warmest congratulations, she says it's a time of huge celebration for two people in love and jeremy corbyn at his press conference, the first matter to be addressed was the engagement. look, first of all, my congratulations to harry and meghan, i wish them well, i hope they have a great time and great fun together and having met harry a couple of times i am sure they are going to have a great deal of fun together. a big engagement announcement from kensington palace, prince harry and american actress meghan markle are engaged. unsurprisingly the engagement was headline news in america. breaking news out of london, drum roll please, prince harry and american meghan markle

are engaged to be married. hip hip, hooray, congratulations. it even managed to bring smiles out on the street of a damp and dreary monday. so thrilled, wonderful news. really great. are you excited they are getting married spring 2018? yes, lovely. what do you think about it? i think it's great, another royal wedding, something to look forward to in times of trouble. maybe it will make my bloke propose to me now so we can have a joint one. congratulations to prince harry and whatever her name is. meghan markle. have a happy and long life together. the archbishop of canterbury also said he was absolutely delighted. a cheerful news headline for once. david sillitoe, bbc news. a few more details coming through to

us a few more details coming through to us in relation to the photocall that we saw a little while ago. some details about the ring that meghan markle is now wearing. it features two outside stones which are diamonds from the personal collection of prince harry's mother, diana, princess of wales. the band is called. we are told that prince harry designed that as well. —— the band is gold. i want to make sure i get this spot on, we are told that ms markle was wearing a white coat from line, the label. that's the information i have been given. nobody told us what prince harry was wearing, people should tell us that, not just what the woman was wearing! it was a white coat by line, the label. that's the information we

have just been given. much label. that's the information we havejust been given. much more label. that's the information we have just been given. much more from kensington palace in the next little while. there is another royal author who is keen tojoin me and speak to me about the official announcement today in the next few minutes. but we will pause and have a look at the weather prospects, wherever you are in the country. chris fawkes, i can do thejob in the country. chris fawkes, i can do thejob for in the country. chris fawkes, i can do thejob for you in the country. chris fawkes, i can do the job for you here in the country. chris fawkes, i can do the job for you here in in the country. chris fawkes, i can do the job for you here in central london... it is baltic! it is cold and it is getting colder, jane! that's true for the weather across the uk. overnight tonight, plenty of showers in north—western areas. fairly gusty. icy stretches across northern scotland and some snow showers on the hills of scotland. temperatures just staying above freezing, that is on account of the strength of the wind. a cold day as we coming to tuesday. this big area of high pressure is blocking things in the atlantic and across greenland. that means we are dragging down these cold and

northerly winds. temperatures over the next few days will be plunging down, to about three degrees. that is in sheffield on thursday, before they recover towards the end of the week. staying below normalfor this time of year. plenty of sunshine around and showers in north—western areas. snow on the hills of scotland, a greater chance of seeing snow showers. affecting eastern coastal areas of england as well, some heavy, temperatures are down. it will get colder, temperatures between four and 7 degrees for tomorrow. that's the latest weather. a royal engagement — prince harry is to marry his girlfriend, the american actress meghan markle. clarence house broke the news this morning. in a statement buckingham palace said the queen and duke of edinburgh were delighted at the news. the prince of wales says he is thrilled. they will be very happy indeed. england are 1—0 down in the ashes.

they needed 56 morons, australia, on day one. there was still plenty to talk about as the wicketkeeper had to explain a jovial head on down opponents before the even began. head to head on the pitch. and, it seems, off it. australia cruised to victory. the focus was onjonny bairstow behind the stumps. and cameron bancroft in front. what did happen between them in a bar in perth for weeks ago? well, after hitting the winning runs, bancroft revealed bairstow‘s rather bizarre greeting. i got into a very amicable conversation withjonny and, yeah, he just greeted me with a head—butt, kind of thing. i was expecting a handshake.

it wasn't the greeting of choice that i was expecting. as for bairstow himself, he insisted the incident had been blown out of all proportion. cameron and i enjoyed the evening and continued to do so. there was no intent nor malice about anything during the evening. as you can see, out there today, there is no animosity between myself and cameron, or any of the other australian players. england say there will be no disciplinary action againstjonny bairstow but after losing this match it's a distraction that they hardly need, and one that raises more questions about players‘ behaviour. after the incident involving ben stokes in bristol and now this, the ecb say they'll be reminding the squad of their responsibilities and one former england captain says the players should be more careful. to arrive in australia, you've got to get overjet lag

and many teams go out for a drink, and jonny bairstow and his team—mates had on that night. but with what's gone on back home in bristol, and everything that is surrounding this team at the minute, the lads have got to be a little bit smarter. and, so, england's ashes have begun in defeat and controversy. what was an already tough challenge is now a whole lot tougher. andy swiss, bbc news, brisbane. west brom's interim head coach gary megson has been told he'll still be in charge of their premier league match against newcastle tomorrow night. they sit 17th in the table and are reported to be close to appointing alan pardew as the permanent replacement to tony pulis, who was sacked as manager last week. they will make their mind up on who

they want to be the candidate. i am just doing thisjob they want to be the candidate. i am just doing this job as long as i'm told and then we'll see what happens. i'm sure the will take their time, get the person they want and like everybody else, you make decisions and there are consequences to your decisions. it's for other people tojudge, not to your decisions. it's for other people to judge, not myself. now, football has some of the most iconic stadia around the world, but for the for the world cup in 2022, qatar might have just upped the ante. they will build a venue constructed from modified shipping containers. the stadium will hold 40,000 seated spectators and will host games up to the quarterfinal stage. after the tournament it can then be taken apart and reassembled another location or even turned into smaller venues. the stadium is scheduled for completion in 2020. that's all the sport for now. i'll have more for you in the next hour. after several days of intense speculation in the media prince harry has announced that he has got engaged to his american actress girlfriend meghan markle. the couple, who met through mutual friends 16 months ago,

will marry in spring next year. the queen and the duke of edinburgh have said they are delighted and the duke and duchess of cambridge have said that they are very excited. a short while ago the couple offered two a nswered a short while ago the couple offered two answered a couple of questions from reporters. congratulations from all of us. how are you feeling? meghan, how are you feeling? how did you propose? was it romantic? inaudible we're joined now by natasha bird, digital editor at elle magazine uk.

the magazine featured two exclusive essays from meghan markle last year. i want to talk about this in a moment but those pictures, i grid already i'm hearing that the people who design that cold, their website has crashed. this is the moment where people realise the power in terms of commercialism of this sort of thing for a start. we've seen this sort of effect with kate middleton and her children as well, everything they were sells out. it can bea everything they were sells out. it can be a terrific boon to brands that are sampled by these people but it is also a fantastic opportunity for these women to celebrate brands that are up—and—coming or who have a great british heritage. hit we don't know who made harry's said but by the end of the day we will. in the

modern world, we are talking about a world meghan markle knows about the most. she an actress, american and a forest. this is something she celebrated her when she wrote those essays. in one of her essays, she talked about how with power and fame comes great opportunity but also responsibility and is one of the things meghan markle has said that throughout her career she recognises herfame as throughout her career she recognises her fame as a platform to do other things. and so being suits was important but she has always used it to do something for the greater good as well and has made it very clear so far that that is her intention. i see no reason that will change now she is marrying harry. i'm guessing your magazine would quite like the next article to be written by her. she has written for us twice already

and hopefully this is a sign that she thinks we are a platform for words. she typifies things that are so in tune with our brands dna. we are modern, feminist brand for women and she typifies those things. she is strong and strident and outspoken and openly feminist, she has done great things for women and charity, she is a belated busted for everything we stand for. she is marrying into the british royal family who not so long ago would have been totally alien and yet we are looking at a very different royalfamily are looking at a very different royal family now and this couple represent something different. he will be stick thin line to the throne after the third child of william and kate is born. there is a freedom that goes with that position. but also, ithink it is just wonderful of the royal family

to be so carefully changing with the times. we are finding more ways to be receptive and a reflective of the society around them. we are a multicultural, ethnic melting point of people who celebrate outspoken women and it is most of the fact that the royal family are making women and it is most of the fact that the royalfamily are making no show of the fact that these things in her background are even relevant. harry fell in love with the fantastic women and gets to marry her and hopefully we will approach at the same way throughout their marriage. so we should be happy. there's a lot of cynicism out there, iam there's a lot of cynicism out there, i am getting stick on twitter! but we wish them nothing but happiness. why would you wish them anything else? we are celebrating the fact that harry fell in love and gets to marry them, which is great. but she

is also objectively a really cool, intelligent women. this is also great, but is there to critique? she is american and maybe that will make us is american and maybe that will make us lose some bridge of cynicism and adopt more of the week and anything attitude of the americans. natasha, thank you very much. six british men who've been in prison in india for more than four years have been freed by an appeals court. they were jailed on weapons charges while working on ships in the indian ocean. they said they were security guards, employed to combat piracy. our correspondent sanjoy majumder sent this report from chennai. iix british men who've been in prison in india for more a short text message with the news they have been waiting to hear for four years. her partner and brother,

are among four soldiers of acquitted of smuggling arms and india. it is an emotional moment for the families of the six men. they campaigned long and hard to bring them home and were nervous in the arms living up to the verdict. it official. we have been waiting for four years but that doesn't mean it gets easier, especially at times like this when we know the judge has written his verdict and knows what he's going to say. the men were on board this ship, when it entered the southern indian coast in october 2013. they we re indian coast in october 2013. they were accused of illegally possessing arms, a charge of the denied, saying they were legally carrying weapons as part of anti—piracy operations to protect merchant ships. injanuary

last year, to their horror, they we re last year, to their horror, they were convicted and sentenced to five yea rs were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. this is where they have spent their time, hence the high walls of the prisoner to the southern indian city. they have lost considerable weight with minimal contact from their families. once thejudge's orders is contact from their families. once the judge's orders is officially communicated, the six british soldiers will finally walk free, emerging from the gates you see behind me, the chennai central prison where they have been for four yea rs. prison where they have been for four years. they have spent several anxious weeks expecting to hear of their fate and finally they are free to go home and be reunited with theirfamilies. here to go home and be reunited with their families. here is to go home and be reunited with theirfamilies. here is frustrating and restoration have finally given way to joy as news of their release is shared swiftly with friends and family. gratitude for those who have

given their support. thank you for everything. the indonesian authorities have urged people living near mount agung, a volcano on the island of bali, to move to safety because of fears it's about to erupt. last night the island's main airport in the captial denpasar was shut, leaving thousands of tourists stranded. officials have ordered that 100,000 residents need to leave the immediate area around the volcano but so far only 40,000 have done so. the volcano first began belching thick smoke last week. the last time it erupted, in1963, more than 1,000 people died. tom burridge reports on the latest. a giant cloud of rocks, glass, crystal and gas spews out of bali's tallest volcano. mount agung started staring two months ago, but the force of nature here has taken another unpredictable turn. i'm very concerned for the people within the exclusion zones. i really hope they manage to get out of the way. the biggest worries are the mudflows

which began several hours ago now. if this develops and starts to produce hot, rapidly moving avalanches down the volcano, that is a very big concern. life does go on nearby. many remain here even as the authorities work to evacuate 100,000 people. the hope, that there will not be the death and destruction brought by mount agung last time round. that was in 1963. in a country with a history of volcanic eruptions, this was one of the worst. ash and lava leave 100,000 acres forever unproductive. more than 1000 died. the orange glow today, magma visible at the top of the volcano, a sign that a full—scale eruption could come soon. as the magma move up

through the volcano, it has heated water inside, creating steam and pressure. breaking off fragments of rock and hurling it thousands of metres into the air. for weeks, some have been living in temporary accommodation, ever since tiny earthquakes caused by the volcano were detected. but others in the villages surrounding mount agung have no choice but to stay put. translation: i'm scared but i don't have the money to leave. this morning, disruption as the island's airport closed. thousands of holidays and journeys affected. we have no information because the gates to check—in have been closed indefinitely. some tourists, though, staying put to take it all in. this could be a relatively minor eruption over a long period of time, or something more serious. even for experts, predicting

what a volcano will do next is an impossible task. the families of five people killed when a stolen car crashed in leeds at the weekend have paid tribute to their loved ones. two 15—year—old boys remain in custody on suspicion of causing death by dangerous driving. two pharmaceutical firms — one american, the other german — have said they will invest more than a billion pounds in the uk, creating more than 18—hundred jobs. the government said these biotech deals illustrated confidence it its industrial strategy, aimed at supporting more research and development, encouraging firms to embrace new technology, and boosting the economy. this white paper long in the

waiting. what have we learned today? rock as you say, it is a big document. there are four challengers, five sectors, but the government is supposed to stick in a bit of money for research and development, ask the academic institutions to crushed dail cluster around it and let them have test—beds for the new stuff. industrial strategy in action. let's go back to kensington palace. it's

maybe cold, but the nation feels very warm. that's broadly a good summary. welcome back to kensington palace we re welcome back to kensington palace were for the last hour we have seen the photo call of prince harry and meghan markle. just behind me here, where the prince told the gathered journalists and photographers that he knew he wanted to marry meghan markle the very first time he met her. the author of the wales books is here. what are your thoughts on what is a happy day for an off a lot of people? a happy moment on a cold and a rather bleak day and it's not and a rather bleak day and it's not a great surprise but while royal engagements have this extra excitement when they do finally happen. we have been expecting it

but it is still great when it happens and across the world, people are waking up. we have had calls from australia and america wanting to know all about it. the young couple is very much in love and very proud of each other and really quite relaxed. yes, the way of the modern royal family. you say we have been expecting it for a while. you move in the circles of royal correspondence even more than i you 7777 7777 you this777 777 7577 77 7777777777 7 7 you this siesta end 7 7777777777 7 7 you this siesta end up 7777 7 7 you this siesta end up with did you think this would end up with an engagement? it has been clear for an engagement? it has been clear for a while that prince harry has taken this very seriously and when he introduced meghan to the world i think that was the big indicator. this morning, i had no inkling it was going to happen but when it hit

came, iwas was going to happen but when it hit came, i was like, that's great. well there be any discussion amongst whilst articles about the fact she has been married before?” whilst articles about the fact she has been married before? i don't think so, i think we have moved on. some years ago, yes, it would have beena some years ago, yes, it would have been a major issue but not any more. there are many divorces within the royal family and i think everyone willjust take the view that harry is happy, this is what he wants and that's great. he is currently fifth in line to the throne but another royal baby will come next year, of course. that allows him, as we have seenin course. that allows him, as we have seen in his attitude, to be a little bit more relaxed, to have... the way the might bring up his children, if they have some. each time another royal baby comes along, he moves down the pecking order. it requires

two more royal births before you officially doesn't need to ask permission, so he is still in the top six and has to ask the queen's permission. under the royal marriages act. as i am sure the queen is delighted by this. yes, you are right, as a royalfamily evolves, each generation comes along, the generation before moves further down the pecking order and received. but prince harry is a hugely popular member of the royal family and policing active part of royal life. he has taken on a lot of engagement on the part of the queen so engagement on the part of the queen so he is very much part of the family. and very much done things in his own way and that is why people have affection for him as a member of the royal family. have affection for him as a member of the royalfamily. will have affection for him as a member of the royal family. will he have affection for him as a member of the royalfamily. will he be have affection for him as a member of the royal family. will he be able to put his own spin on his wedding day and his wedding ceremony or is that all really dictated by

protocol? clearly a certain amount of protocol is involved. there's is busy round we haven't begun to see it if the have some problem with who is coming or what way the procession is coming or what way the procession is going, but in the end they are always a great event and harry, i'm sure, we'll take a very close, keen interest in every aspect of it. thanks very much indeed. we will be talking again in the coming months, i'm sure. meghan markle is 36 years old, born and brought up in los angeles. she has been living in toronto because that is where the tv series that she has been in for so many series is actually filmed. still used to the limelight, of course, because she is an actress but still quite a leap, joining the richard royalfamily. but still quite a leap, joining the richard royal family. our but still quite a leap, joining the richard royalfamily. our royal correspondent has more. she grew up in an affluent

neighbourhood of los angeles and went to a private catholic school. she is mixed—race, the daughter of divorced parents. her mother, a yoga teacher, her father a divorced parents. her mother, a yoga teacher, herfather a respected tv and film lighting director. there is no question over her ability to cope with her new status. she certainly handles herself with poise and grace and it is a great tribute to her family in terms of the way she handled herself. she does not seem to be preoccupied or really influenced by the fact that she is going to be a member of the royal family. in the area where her mother now lives, there has been many offers of wedding help. now lives, there has been many offers of wedding helplj now lives, there has been many offers of wedding help. i want to be a bridesmaid! it would be a bit

different and something the community could i am ecstatic and i would love to do a hat for her. as an actress, her early career included adverts and east end opening the boxes on the tv programme deal or no deal. before her big break in the short suits. also her humour timea, focused on young women and gender equality. that interest in campaigning was common ground with her husband to be. but in the early days, some of the media coverage and onset of the couple. harry even described it as having racial undertones. it felt very racist to me and like there was an attempt to make her seem like an other, an outsider, so that was pretty startling. but meghan markle's background is unlike any other senior member of the royal

family. she will now have to navigate life inside the british aristocracy. this is a path already trodden by the wife of the earl of sandwich. marrying into this real old british aristocratic family, i have had to, i guess, touch up on my manners. when i arrived here, i was much more an open book and is now marrying into the british aristocracy, i realised you do have two close it down a bit for various reasons. this will be a whole new world for meghan markle, one of great privilege but with it will come great strictly. —— scrutiny. so, there were quite a few hundred people gathered here at kensington palace a little later on when that came to michael took place, trying

to get a picture of the couple at that official photocall. just a couple of questions were shouted out at the royal couple by the journalists there and prince harry said, amongst other things, he knew meghan markle was the woman he wa nted meghan markle was the woman he wanted to marry the very first time he met her. we've also been told that there really, lots of close—ups of that and i'm sure there will be lots of photos of those very soon, there it is, and two of the diamonds are from princess diana's personal collection, we are told, from his mother's personal collection. we will have much more on today's here's an kensington palace after three. we will catch up with the weather prospects wherever you are. we are looking at an improving weather picture to take us through the rest of the day. the cloud and

rain affecting england and wales is clearing out of the way with the fewer shoppers across north and western areas. quite a bit of cloud but some beautiful scenes in the peak district. we have had a lot of cloud to start the day. this weather front has been sinking southwards bringing rain, but it is clearing out of the way and blustery showers into north—western areas. showers will continue through this evening and the first part of the night. some of highs showers will be wintry over the hills of scotland and it will feel cold. blustery winds of 30 miles an hour nationwide is perhaps a reaching gale force in places. in the south, lots of cloud as we head into the evening. we may still see some thicker cloud and the chance of rain in south—west later on. some uncertainty with that. for the rest of the night, blustery winds should

keep temperatures just above freezing but it will be a cold night. a few places in northern scotla nd night. a few places in northern scotland could dip below freezing and the risk of some of the searches into tuesday. for the week ahead, we have this big ridge of high pressure across the mid—atla ntic have this big ridge of high pressure across the mid—atlantic towards greenland and that stops mild atla ntic greenland and that stops mild atlantic from reaching us and instead we get northerly winds. through this week, the air will get cold. this is the temperature record for sheffield. all week, ted peters will be below average. a look at the weather picture for tuesday and most of us will have a fine day with plenty of sunshine but plenty of showers affecting north—western areas. but winds coming from a northerly direction and a greater number of showers across the eastern coast of england and scotland. tem ptress coast of england and scotland. temptress four — 7 degrees but with

more sunshine. sunshine for wednesday but still showers affecting the eastern coast of england and scotland. highs between 3-7. hello, you're watching bbc news afternoon live. i'm simon mccoy. prince harry and his fiancee meghan markle have made their first public appearance since announcing their engagement. going into the gardens at kensington palace for the first photocall as an engaged couple. in a statement buckingham palace said the queen and duke of edinburgh were ‘delighted' at the news. they've been together forjust over a year after meeting in london in the summer of 2016.

no, we're thrilled, thank you very much, to both of them. i hope they'll be very happy indeed, is all i can say. the other headlines this hour: two pharmaceutical firms have said they'll invest more than £1 billion in the uk, creating nearly 2000 jobs. emotional tributes are being paid after the children and two adults we re after the children and two adults were killed when a stolen car hit a tree in leeds at the weekend. and celebrating after their freedom after four years in an celebrating after their freedom afterfour years in an indianjail. six british men accused of arms smuggling, after a long campaign for their release, have been told they can go home. leave your homes —100,000 people near bali's mount agung have been ordered to evacuate as officials fear a major eruption. hello and welcome again to

kensington palace in central london. in the last hour we have seen prince harry and his new fiancee meghan markle here in the gardenjust behind me at the groans of kensington palace. they came out just for a couple of minutes on this bitterly cold london they —— grounds of kensington palace. to have their photographs ta ken by of kensington palace. to have their photographs taken by a large number of official press photographers, and plenty of other people, pushing themselves and their camera phones up themselves and their camera phones up against the gates here at kensington palace trying to get a photo. the announcement of prince harry and his american girlfriend that they would be getting married was madejust a

that they would be getting married was made just a few hours ago, having had been —— having been spectral did on for quite some time, but only made official around about ten o'clock this morning. let's hear a little bit first of all from that photocall in the last hour. congratulations from all of us. how are you both feeling? erm, proud. and i'm very glad it's not raining as well. and meghan, how are you feeling? so happy. thanks. and tell us, how did you propose? laughter was it romantic? very. the very first time we met... can you show us the ring, please? thank you. that was about an hour or so ago. the news was announced this morning,

saying they had become engaged in london a little earlier this month. all we know in terms of the wedding itself is that it will be in the spring of next year. that is as specific as the details are at this stage. our royal correspondent nicholas witchell reports. they've known each other for rather less than 18 months and they've done their best to remain out of sight of the media. this was an exception when they were seen hand—in—hand at the invictus games in toronto earlier this year. but now they are to be married with the wedding planned for the spring of next year. the news was given in a statement from clarence house at ten o'clock. "his royal highness prince henry of wales and miss meghan markle are engaged to be married." news of the engagement has been greeted with pleasure within the royal family, the queen and the duke of edinburgh who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week said they were delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness. those who have seen the couple together say they are very much in love. that much was confirmed recently by meghan markle herself, in an interview with vanity fair magazine

she declared, "we are a couple, we are in love." for harry, the engagement brings to an end the bachelor life which he has led and enjoyed for a good many years. whilst all the time seeking someone with whom he could settle down and start a family. twice it had seemed he had found the right person, chelsea davey, born in zimbabwe, educated in britain was his girlfriend for six years up to 2010 and then there was cressida bonas, young actress from an aristocratic british family who was with harry for two years until 2014. in both cases the relationships foundered at least in part because of the intense media scrutiny. that scrutiny may be something meghan markle is better prepared to deal with. hi. wow, you're pretty. good — you've hit on me, we can get it out of the way that i'm not interested.

as an american actress with several high—profile roles, she is used to the public spotlight. beyond her acting career there are significant other dimensions to meghan markle's life. i'm smart, and i know i'd be a good lawyer... she's described herself as a strong woman of mixed—race. her father is of irish descent, her mother is an african—american. she's been active in humanitarian campaigns and is a un advocate for the empowerment of women. i am proud to be a woman and a feminist. for harry, an engagement finally offers the prospect of the personal fulfilment which at times has seemed elusive. as any girl would ever tell you it's, "oh, my god, he's a prince..." this was him in a us television interview in 2012. look at me — i'm 27 years old and not so much searching for someone to fulfil the role, but obviously finding someone that would be willing to take it on. harry has finally found that special person. we're going to look at privacy and harassment law...

one of the couple's immediate challenges will be to find some privacy. in a statement soon after the relationship became public harry said, this isn't a game, it is his and miss markle's life, a life which in her case, is about to take a remarkable change of direction as she prepares to join the british royal family. nicholas witchell, bbc news. and in britain and america, as you would expect. -- reaction coming in from both britain and america, as you would expect. a short while ago, the speaker of the house of commons, john bercow, offered his congratulations to the couple on behalf of his fellow mps in westminster. let's hear some of that.|j let's hear some of that. i should like to make a short statement following the announcement from clare nce following the announcement from clarence house today of the engagement of prince harry to meghan markle. i engagement of prince harry to meghan markle. lam engagement of prince harry to meghan markle. i am sure that members from both sides of the house would join me in congratulating the couple on

this most happy occasion, and wishing them all the very best for their future together. so jim burke all -- their future together. so jim burke all —— john bercow there in the comments talking about the congratulations from everyone in parliament. we can now speak to our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba. he is with the here outside kensington palace. we heard it there in that report. it will be spoken about time and again, parole and that american tv series, which lots of our viewers, let's face it, may not be familiar with, but it is long—running and she has had a substantial role for quite a long time? absolutely. she has been there from the very start, that very first episode. the clip we just saw in that first piece was actually the first time those two characters meet, and it then goes through the seven seas in a will bayley, when they get together?

-- -- will —— —— will they — won't they? it may be popular with the younger generation, the netflix generation. but she has been acting for a long time. she was in a long—running us soap drama, then she had a slightly bigger role with lines of a programme cold century city, a futuristic sci—fi law drama which only for a few episodes —— called century city. in an interview then, she was terrified of messing up that one line she had, but even then she was alongside british actor and also viola davis, a future oscar winner, so even then she was in pretty good company, and with tv and film appearances she did after that, they we re appearances she did after that, they were mostly small parts, but she

a lwa ys were mostly small parts, but she always did seem to make something quite good of it. i remember someone saying, when meghan markle was first being talked about, it was in french, and i thought, a sci—fi conspiracy drama, and i remember watching that and thinking, she hadn't had many scenes in that episode but it really did stick in the mind, and since then she has had her big break with suits, a very talented actors, it really showed off her skills. she has been there for the seven series. it has been reported she will be leaving the series, with news today, and i'm sure we will hear more about that, and the plans later on, but a very talented actors who seems to have worked very hard to get her big break in hollywood for many years, but when it did come a she really made the most of it and has done so well in suits, very popular programme in the us, the uk and over the world. we look look at her here now alongside her fiance, the world. we look look at her here now alongside herfiance, prince harry, these photographs from the last hour or so. and a quick thought, lizo. everybody here is

making an assumption that that is it, the end of her acting career, there will be no more of that. i suppose no one has actually said that, we are just assuming it. suppose no one has actually said that, we arejust assuming it. we are in uncharted territory? yes, they are acting roles here in london, i understand, she could take advantage of. i'm sure she will have very clear ideas of what she wants to do, and something that has been talked about all the of course is the fact she's one of those kind of people who has used her celebrity from suits in particular to actually highlight good causes, things she believes in, so that is no doubt something else that she will pursue toa something else that she will pursue to a particularly high degree now this news is out there. but we don't know what she will do with her acting career. there is no reason she can't carry on acting, of course, she is very good at it. if she did decide to give up i am sure it will be a bit of rents because it has been a big part of her life and she is a very talented young actress, but we will see what happens when that question i'm sure we'll be there in the near future

and we will be. thanks very much, lizo mzimba, thanks very much indeed. quite possibly today that question might be answered. lots of news coming in reacting to the engagement, from britain and america. david sillito has more. prince charles was out this morning looking at community and green initiatives. but the first topic was of course... congratulations, sir, what do you think about the engagement? thank you, very thrilled, thank you very much, for both of them, i hope they will be very happy indeed, that is all i can say. the prime minister offered her warmest offered her warmest congratulations — this is, she says, a time of huge celebration for two people in love and jeremy corbyn at his press conference, the first matter to be addressed was the engagement. look, first of all, my congratulations to harry and meghan — i wish them well, i hope they have a great time and great fun together, and having met harry

a couple of times i am sure they are going to have a great deal of fun together. a big engagement announcement from kensington palace, prince harry and american actress meghan markle are engaged. yay! unsurprisingly the engagement was headline news in america. breakingy news out of london, drum roll please, prince harry and american meghan markle are engaged to be married. hip hip, and a hooray, congratulations to them. it even managed to bring smiles out on the street of a damp and dreary monday. we areso thrilled, wonderful news. really great. are you excited they are getting married spring 2018? yes, lovely. what do you think about it? i think it's great, another royal wedding, something to look forward to in times of trouble. maybe it will make my bloke propose to me now so we can have a joint one. laughter congratulations to prince harry and whatever her name is. meghan markle.

meghan markle — have a happy and long life together. the archbishop of canterbury also said he was absolutely delighted. a cheerful news headline, for once. david sillitoe, bbc news. wouldn't it be fun if i was allowed to react like that on television! anyway, that was david sillitoe with his report on us reaction. plenty more of that from here. you're watching bbc news. and we are staying with this story, of course, at kensington palace. we can now speak to roya nikkhah, royal correspondent at the sunday times. welcome, thanks for being back with us welcome, thanks for being back with us in welcome, thanks for being back with usina welcome, thanks for being back with us in a blustery central london. the crowds have disbursed. quite a gathering during that photocall. it a few hundred people trying to take the couple's photograph. your thoughts on a day when we thought... resort of what this news might be

coming. we assumed it was coming. i don't know how fair that is, but what are your thoughts it is finally here? it was lovely to see them together in that wonderful photocall in the garden, very sweet, very affectionate couple. harry asked, you know, when he knew that meghan was the one for him, and he said the very first time we met. very sweet. great news. yes, lovely, and in terms of the ring, roya, we hear that too much of the diamonds are from his mother's personal collection. yes, very significant, the ring, for two reasons, one being the ring, for two reasons, one being the storms that belongs to princess diana, and the other one we understand is diamond from botswana, country very close to prince harry's heart. he took meghan on holiday there are couple of months ago. significant, just like william kate's ring, she wears that and harry wanted to keep involved with that as well. in terms of the wedding, we know it is not doing it

next spring, as much as we know at this stage. harry is of course very much the fun and slightly different member of the royal family. much the fun and slightly different member of the royalfamily. he is able to be because he is not the direct heir to the throne. do you think that means he will be able to put his own stamp on the wedding to some degree. comedy will be able to have a bit more fun with it? where's the balance with the protocol? —— so will he be able to have a bit more fun with the? yes, i think this is a wedding that will bring together royal tradition, wedding that will bring together royaltradition, members wedding that will bring together royal tradition, members of the royalfamily, actors, royal tradition, members of the royal family, actors, the royal tradition, members of the royalfamily, actors, the obamas. a really fu n royalfamily, actors, the obamas. a really fun and different kind of wedding to what we are seen before. there will i am sure still be tradition and a big church wedding, the archbishop of canterbury, but it will have harry and meghan stamped all over it and that will be different. that will be lovely for people to watch. will there have been questions, inside royal circles, about the fact she has been married before? will that have been a topic of discussion for very long?

i think not. in royal circles our next king and queen have both been married before, so i thinkjust delete my divorce just is not bitter brew it was 20—30 years ago. i think the fact she has had a life, lived a life —— divorce isjust not the fact she has had a life, lived a life —— divorce is just not the taboo it was 20—30 years ago. life —— divorce is just not the taboo it was 20-30 years ago. and she has this fantastic pedigree painter with charity work, and a lot of work with the un, has been very vocal for many years about opportunity and equality for women and girls —— this fantastic pedigree she has a charity work. and now shall have the most remarkable platform to put forward her views on those topics? yes that is one crucial thing for her. yes, she may have to give up her acting career, but she has been doing the humanitarian charity work for a long time and it will be key for her to ta ke time and it will be key for her to take that forward. it will be a huge bonus for the royal family that she has already been doing that, and her

and harry together as a married couple next year will probably be, you know, on the world stage, one of the most publicity fuelled couples we have ever seen. she will be able to turn the spotlight on some courses and get huge following. it will be a great thing for the royal family to have they are doing that. it yes, thank you. good to see you, roya nikkhah, the royal correspondent they are for the sunday times. and in terms of that charity work, very interesting to reflect on all of that. earlier i spoke to kate robertson, founder and ceo at one young world, which is one the charities that ms markle supports. it is particularly aimed at younger people and is very international, bringing together young people from many countries around the world. and she has seen meghan markle speak at one of her events a few years ago, and she told me what she made of her, and spoke a little bit more about meghan markle's charity work.

one young world is the leading forum for many young members around the world and meghan markle joined for many young members around the world and meghan marklejoined us for many young members around the world and meghan markle joined us to counsel on the stage at the convention centre in dublin, and i had not met her before. we were introduced through various contacts. i was interested in her because i had seen her speech on un women and i thought she was a famous face that would be interesting for our young leaders. not knowing or not being certain of how good she would be on a panel, speaking, you know, in question and answer session freely, as opposed to prepared speeches. on all three she was so eloquent, so every date, just wonderful and remarkable. so from your perspective, and you stage —— so every date just wonderful and remarkable. you have staged many events in your time. was your sense that this was something absolutely genuinely coming from her? she

wa nted genuinely coming from her? she wanted to speak about inspiring younger people, and this was something that came from her heart? yes, she was doing gender equality and it was absolutely the real deal. it was not your average actors stepping up and talking about gender equality. it was the real deal. as i said, extremely well expressed, but very forthright, very calm, very confident, very on celebrity, remarkable —— noncelebrity. confident, very on celebrity, remarkable -- noncelebrity. that is so striking, and therefore your sense would be, and here we are all speculative, but you sense would be she is passionate about this and these sorts of causes, so she will wa nt to these sorts of causes, so she will want to continue to champion them if she possibly can in her new role? certainly. we hope so, obviously, and we very much hope she will continue in some role with us, but notwithstanding that, she is exactly what you would want, and i can't think she would back away from doing that kind of work, and certainly not now. and she will have an even

greater platform by next spring, being a member of the british royal family, so no greater platform. being a member of the british royal family, so no greater platformm is the biggest platform, isn't it, the queen and the pope, and that is about it. you would have her back at one young world ? about it. you would have her back at one young world? in a heartbeat! she is so easy to deal with, so clear and straightforward. i think our whole community, and there are 10,000 of them now, i think absolutely everybody is chuffed and delighted. what can you say? go, harry! laughter kate robinson, the ceo and founder of the charity one young world. it is quicker transition, isn't it? we have been talking about her profession as an actress, born and bred in los angeles, having lived for the last a few years in toronto, where her drama suits is filmed in,

where her drama suits is filmed in, where she found her fame, but from spring she will be a member of the british royal family. our correspondent has more on that... this is no ordinary royal engagement. meghan markle, an american, an actress, a divorcee and a campaigner. she grew up in an affluent suburb of los angeles, went to a private catholic school, she is mixed—race, the daughter of divorced parents, her mother a yoga teacher, her father a respected lighting director. there is no question over her ability to cope with her new status. she certainly handles herself with poise and grace. and, as i said, it's a great tribute to her family, the way she handles herself, she doesn't seem to be preoccupied, influenced by the fact that she is going to be a member of the royal family.

and in the area her mother now lives there have been many offers of wedding help. great, love it. i want to be a bridesmaid! i think it would be nice, it'll different, the first of a kind, so i think it's something the community probably can embrace. i'm ecstatic and i would love to do a fascinator or a hat for her or even her wedding piece. as an actress her early career included adverts. and a stint opening the boxes on the tv programme deal or no deal. before her big break in the show suits. but alongside her acting has been her humanitarian work, focused on young women and gender equality. that interest in campaigning was common ground with her husband to be. but in the early days of their relationship some of the media coverage unsettled the couple, prince harry issued a statement describing it as having racial undertones. it definitely felt very coded and very racist to me, and very much like there was an attempt to make her seem like an other, an outsider.

yes, that was pretty startling. but meghan markle's background is unlike any other senior member of the royal family. she will have to navigate life inside the british aristocracy. it is a path trodden byjulie montague of illinois, she married the son of the earl of sandwich. marrying into this real old british aristocratic family, you know i have had to i guess, sort of touch up on my manners. when i arrived over here i was much more an open book, and now married into the british aristocracy i realised you have to, you do have to close down a little bit for various reasons. this will be a whole new world for meghan markle, one of great privilege but with it, will come great scrutiny.

and more reaction at kensington palace throughout the afternoon, as you would expect, and there will be that interview later on tonight as well, which will be conducted for all broadcasters by the bbc‘s michel gosselin. that is coming up but for now back to you simon, thank you very much. let's get some of the day's other news now. —— the interview will be conducted by mishal husain. six british men who've been in prison in india for more than four years have been freed by an appeals court. they were jailed on weapons charges while working on ships in the indian ocean. they said they were security guards, employed to combat piracy. our correspondent sanjoy majumder sent this report from chennai — it begins with the moment relatives heard the news during an interview with the bbc. all 35... all released. a short text message with the news they have been waiting to hearforfour years. oh, my god! her partner and brother, are among six former british

soldiers acquitted of smuggling arms and india. it is an emotional moment for the families of the six men. they campaigned long and hard to bring them home and were nervous in the hours living up to the verdict. it official. we have been waiting for four years so we are used to the wait, but that doesn't mean it gets easier, especially at times like this when we know the judge has written his verdict and knows what he's going to say. the men were on board this ship, the ohio, when it entered the southern indian coast in october 2013. they were accused of illegally possessing arms, a charge of the denied, saying they were legally carrying weapons as part of anti—piracy operations to protect merchant ships. in january last year, to their horror, they were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison. this is where they have spent their time, behind the high

walls of the prisoner to the southern indian city. to the southern indian city of chennai. they have lost considerable weight with minimal contact from theirfamilies. once the judge's orders is officially communicated to the prison authorities the six former british soldiers will finally walk free, emerging from the gates you see behind me, the chennai central prison where they have been for four years. they have spent several anxious weeks expecting to hear of their fate and finally they are free to go home and be reunited with their families. years of frustration and restoration have finally given way to joy as news of their release is shared swiftly with friends and family. gratitude for those who have given their support. thank you for everything. for everything you've ever done for us. bbc news, chennai. the indonesian authorities

have urged people living near mount agung — a volcano on the island of bali — to move to safety, because of fears it's about to erupt. last night the island's main airport in the captial denpasar was shut, leaving thousands of tourists stranded. officials have ordered that 100,000 residents need to leave the immediate area around the volcano, but so far only 40,000 have done so. the volcano first began belching thick smoke last week — the last time it erupted — in 1963, when more than 1000 people died. tom burridge reports on the latest. a giant cloud of rocks, glass, crystal and gas spews out of bali's tallest volcano. mount agung started staring two months ago, but the force of nature here has taken another unpredictable turn. i'm very concerned for the people within the exclusion zones. i really hope they manage to get out of the way. the biggest worries are the mudflows which began several hours ago now. if this develops and starts

to produce hot, rapidly moving avalanches down the volcano, that is a very big concern. life does go one nearby. life does go on nearby. many remain here even as the authorities work to evacuate 100,000 people. the hope, that there won't be the death and destruction brought the death and destruction wrought by mount agung last time round. that was in 1963. in a country with a history of volcanic eruptions, this was one of the worst. archive footage: ash and lava leave 100,000 acres forever unproductive. more than 1000 died. the orange glow today, magma visible at the top of the volcano, a sign that a full—scale eruption could come soon. as the magma's moved up through the volcano,

it has heated water inside, creating steam and pressure. breaking of fragments of rock and hurling it thousands of metres into the air. so for weeks some have been living in temporary accommodation, ever since tiny earthquakes caused by the volcano were detected. but others in the many villages surrounding mount agung have no choice but to stay put. translation: i'm scared but i don't have the money to leave. and this morning, disruption as the island's airport closed. thousands of holidays and journeys affected. we have got no information because the gates to check—in have been closed, indefinitely. some tourists, though, staying put to take it all in. this could be a relatively minor eruption over a long period of time, or something more serious. even for experts, predicting what a volcano will do next

is an impossible task. tom burridge, bbc news. now time for the weather with chris. in the blustery showers across the north—west of the country and overnight tonight as well. of respect showers over scotland with this could turn base for a time but largely the winds keeping temperatures above freezing. but it will be pretty cold overnight. this week, we have a big ridge of high pressure that is stopping mild atla ntic pressure that is stopping mild atlantic winds from reaching our shores and instead, we get to these cold northerly winds. the air will get progressively colder this week. this is the temperature curve in sheffield, the temperatures well below average. on thursday, it will just be about three degrees celsius. plenty of sunshine on tuesday after a cold start the day. some snow in

the hills and an increasing number of showers for eastern coasts of and scotla nd of showers for eastern coasts of and scotland to. a royal engagement — prince harry is to marry his girlfriend, the american actress meghan markle. clarence house broke the news this morning. in a statement buckingham palace said the queen and duke of edinburgh were delighted at the news, as did the prince of wales. they will be very happy indeed. two pharmaceutical firms have said they'll invest more than a billion pounds in the uk, creating nearly 2000 jobs in what the government is calling a vote of confidence. freed after four years — six former british soldiers imprisoned on weapons charges in india since 2013 are set to be released. triggers have been paid to the

children killed in a car crash and leaves the weekend. ordered to evacuate — thousands flee as authorities in bali warn that a volcano on the island is in imminent danger of a full—scale eruption. it wasn't the best of days for england in the first test battle rather than talk about the cricket, eve ryo ne rather than talk about the cricket, everyone is talking about england's off field matters because there was an alleged head—butt by the england wicketkeeper on one of the australian players. an odd way to greet someone that you don't really know well but it means increased scrutiny on the england players and once again, their discipline being questioned. the player himself says it has been blown way out of

proportion and there was no malice but the england coach says the players have just got to be smarter. head to head on the pitch. and, it seems, off it. australia cruised to victory. the focus was onjonny bairstow behind the stumps. and cameron bancroft in front. what did happen between them in a bar in perth for weeks ago? well, after hitting the winning runs, bancroft revealed bairstow‘s rather bizarre greeting. i got into a very amicable conversation withjonny and, yeah, he just greeted me with a head—butt, kind of thing. i was expecting a handshake. it wasn't the greeting of choice that i was expecting. as for bairstow himself, he insisted the incident had been blown out of all proportion. cameron and i enjoyed the evening and continued to do so. there was no intent nor malice about anything during the evening. as you can see, out there today, there is no animosity

between myself and cameron, or any of the other australian players. england say there will be no disciplinary action againstjonny bairstow but after losing this match it's a distraction that they hardly need, and one that raises more questions about players‘ behaviour. after the incident involving ben stokes in bristol and now this, the ecb say they'll be reminding the squad of their responsibilities and one former england captain says the players should be more careful. to arrive in australia, you've got to get overjet lag and many teams go out for a drink, and jonny bairstow and his team—mates had on that night. but with what's gone on back home in bristol, and everything that is surrounding this team at the minute, the lads have got to be a little bit smarter. and, so, england's ashes have begun in defeat and controversy. what was an already tough challenge is now a whole lot tougher. andy swiss, bbc news, brisbane.

west brom's interim head coach gary megson has been told he'll still be in charge of their premier league match against newcastle tomorrow night. they sit 17th in the table and are reported to be close to appointing alan pardew as the permanent replacement to tony pulis, who was sacked as manager last week. but megson says he doesn't know how long that'll take. they will make their mind up on who they want to be the candidate. i am just doing this job as long as i'm told and then we'll see what happens. i'm sure they will take their time, get the person they want and like everybody else, you make decisions and there are consequences to your decisions. it's for other people to judge, not myself. romelu lukaku will face no further punishment from the fa for an apparent kick at brighton defender gyton bong. the alleged incident wasn't seen by the referee at the time but retrospective action could have

meant the striker was banned for three games. a panel of three former premier league referees failed to agree it was deemed worthy of a red card. wales' ross moriarty willjoin dragons from gloucester for the start of next season. the british and irish lion has never played his club rugby in wales, but the move was made necessary by their new selection policy and follows team—mate george north's return back to his home country. the policy means players taking up new contracts outside wales must have won 60 caps, to be eligible to play for the national team — moriarty has won 17 caps. that's all the sport for now. holly hamilton will have more for you in the next hour. a 15—year—old boy arrested following a fatal car crash in leeds has been released under investigation, police have said. another 15—year—old boy remains in custody on suspicion of dangerous driving.

five young people, including three teenagers, were killed when a stolen car hit a tree this weekend. it is now understood six people were involved, one survived. police appealed for anyone with information to come forward. they are looking for anybody who may have seen anything in this area for that black renault clio earlier in this evening to come forward and tell us about it. we are now interested in the manner of that vehicle's dries in and colliding with the tree and anyone who has information, i would appreciate it if they would come forward. these are obviously particularly harrowing circumstances for us. we lost five members of our community, including three children, and our thoughts and condolences of the families of those involved. we are doing our very best to support them,

working together with our local authority to support the community as well, particularly in local schools because some of the people involved were schoolchildren. we are dry to support them with our savers app dry to support them with our savers app schools partnership officers. we are aware emotions are running high in the committee and i would urge people to support each other in what isa very people to support each other in what is a very difficult time. two pharmaceutical firms — one american, the other german — have said they will invest more than a billion pounds in the uk, creating more than 18—hundred jobs. the government said these biotech deals illustrated confidence it its industrial strategy, aimed at supporting more research and development, encouraging firms to embrace new technology, and boosting the economy. our economics correspondent andy verity reports. high levels of investing and. these cost millions to design and programme and the corridor as they

produce can compete across the world. with the uk's productivity record, these are the exception. while ago we translate good ideas from academic and take them into industry and if we can utilise that now for other sectors, including things like infrastructure and construction, i think we have a great opportunity for the future. the government chose a biomedical research institute as the venue for its launch. it includes bigger tax tax breaks, rhys killing people with months, improving the business environment through partnerships like life sciences and making places more productive with better transport links. on the basis of setting this out, these companies already recognise this is a long—term strategy, have confidence in itand long—term strategy, have confidence in it and are making big investment decisions today that create a good jobs across the country. low-tech,

low—wage companies where productivity is weakest and the new announcement today is split over three years. compared to total government spending of 780 billion and it is a small fraction. when they talk of industrial strategy the focus on the high—tech sectors like automotive sector, where productivity is already high. the problem is the rest of the economy, the everyday economy, like tourism and hospitality, manufacturing, where productivity is considerably worse between our european competitors. that is really where the effort needs to go. many companies have funds to invest in skills and technology but since the financial crash, directors have been uncertain. will there be enough demand for their goods for that

investment to pay off? and with brexit—lite mean, that is not getting any easier. after several days of intense speculation in the media prince harry has announced that he has got engaged to his american actress girlfriend meghan markle. the couple, who met through mutual friends 16 months ago, will marry in spring next year. the queen and the duke of edinburgh have said they are delighted and the duke and duchess of cambridge have said that they are very excited. a short while ago the couple offered two answered a couple of questions to answered a couple of questions from reporters. congratulations from all of us. how are you feeling? meghan, how are you feeling? how did you propose? was it romantic? inaudible are you excited they are getting

married spring 2018? yes, lovely. what do you ladies think about it? i follow them somewhat but i guess people are particularly happy about it, as she is american. hadn't heard until you told me about it is very exciting and i'm happy for him. he appears to be happy at least in the news. i haven't really thought about it. we do not overthink the royals.

with me is royal commentator, katie nicholl. there is nothing like the royal family for bringing smiles to people's faces. this will be different because he will be number six in line to the throne so he will have the freedom of the royal couples have not had. it will be a different wedding from william's to kate. he is not going to be king, it is very unlikely he will. harry has been quite delighted to slip down the order of succession because it does give him greaterfreedom. we do not know where they were married on what ceremony at will be. there is speculation about whether meghan can't marry any church because she isa can't marry any church because she is a divorcee but she can. but one wonders whether she may well want a different ceremony to previous royal weddings. but they will not go to las vegas. it will be here. to a

degree, protocol has to be observed. you get the impression this is a royal couple who will break the royal mile is a bit and do things a little differently. and enjoy life. they appear very happy. from that photo call, you can see from the body language, the arms around each other, it was meghan who had her hand on the small of harry's back. i wonder if she was more confident than he was. you heard it nervous giggle as he walks up to the photographers. they do seem very much in love and that first public appearance at the invictus games, that was so different, wearing ripped jeans and the handholding, to that kiss in public, notjust watched by meghan's mother but the whole world. you just do not see that sort of public display of affection when it comes to the royals and it is refreshing. he

a nswered royals and it is refreshing. he answered the question, when did you first know, when they first met.|j have been told that when they heard an early date and subsequent days after, he knew from the outset that this is someone special, someone different. it helped enormously that she is at heart a humanitarian. she is really passionate about her charity work and they have that in common. they are united in their desire to use their fame and celebrity to put that spotlight on ca rs celebrity to put that spotlight on cars is that are important for them. for harry to find someone who is so similarto him in for harry to find someone who is so similar to him in that respect it's fantastic. they are giving a broadcast interview at 6:00pm tonight. what questions would you wa nt to tonight. what questions would you want to put to her? when did this happen? tell us a little bit about that earlier meeting, that first encounter. how on earth did you manage to keep this woman is a

secret for six months? this is prince harry, the most famous eligible bachelor on the planet and yet they kept it quiet. you have a book about prince harry coming out. he has that public sympathy more than any other in the royal family because it is etched on people's minds the mother of him on his mother's funeral. he has the public‘s heart with you're absolutely right and this is a boy we watched walk behind his mother's cortege. he lived under the world's quys cortege. he lived under the world's guys and we watched him grow up, go on the fall in love, fall out of love, and find and he happy with. there is a great deal of goodwill towards him. even if you're not a royalist, prince harry connects with the public in a very unique way and i think people are very happy for

him. thank you very much. meghan markle will now have to rub shoulders with the british establishment. it is an experience julie montague knows very well. growing up in america, the midwest, the only british royalty that we ever heard about was princess diana. she was everywhere. it was princess diana and that's all we read and heard about. for me, i did not know any other parts of the aristocracy existed beyond the royalfamily until obviously i met my husband. the viscount area to the total lots of people will be familiar with, the earl of summit. —— the heir to the total. —— the earl of sandwich. earl of summit. —— the heir to the total. -- the earl of sandwich. my

first lesson injoining total. -- the earl of sandwich. my first lesson in joining the aristocracy was to learn it is called viscount. that was my first thing and! called viscount. that was my first thing and i really did not understand that because it was built to discount is spelt. but marrying into the aristocracy, yes, there is a formality around it and there is a lot of mums around it and i think for me the biggest thing i remember was having to set a table. —— a lot of mums around it. in america you are giving a fork and occasionally a knife but you eat with the fork in the right—hander, so eating with the fork in the right—hand, i had to have my husband how to set the table. chatting earlier, you said there was a lot of learning about history and of course you learned to be respectful of that history. but you are inherent personality does

not change as you adopt this new leicester. no it's being respectful of the history and have married into andi of the history and have married into and i am fascinated because the history they have married into and meghan is marrying into is older than america is self. and so to us as americans is incredibly fascinating when we see things dating back to the 1500 and the 1600 and you want to learn so much. at the same time, you don't want to lose who you are as a person and in particular, being an american. there is that he is only american accent, but it is something i am incredibly american. how do you think meghan markle will cope? i think she will cope brilliantly because in america, from the day you are buying, you are told you can be anything you want to

be, no matter what title, stature, money, it doesn't matter. i think she is marrying the guy she loves. she is not marrying a title. she is just thinking, this is the guy i love and i'm going to start my life with him and spent the rest of my life with him. but i will stick to who i am as life with him. but i will stick to whoiam asa life with him. but i will stick to who i am as a person and that real optimistic american way that you can be anything you want to be. will she bring a freshness to the royal family? yes, i'm sure i'm biased in saying that, because i am america the leave american. but when people meet me for the first time and realise i am not english, people say it isa realise i am not english, people say it is a breath of fresh air to have an american, you guys are optimistic, and so i think she will bring this real vitality and energy to this royal family. prince harry has said he's "thrilled" to be

engaged to meghan markle. speaking for the first time since announcing they are to marry next spring, the american actress said she was so happy. the government launches a plan to reverse the slowdown in britain's productivity and growth. 100,000 people near bali's mount agung have been ordered to evacuate as officials fear a major eruption. the government's plan to boost uk industry ahead of the country leaving the eu is due to be launched later. the industrial strategy is aimed at lifting growth, which official forecasts suggest will slow due to the uk's poor productivity performance. leading consumer group citizens advice warns that many people are struggling to get out of unwanted subscriptions such as gym memberships and online streaming services. and the number of young people caught acting as money mules — letting other people use their bank accounts — has doubled

in the past four years, according to the uk's fraud prevention service, cifas. there has been a warning of its obstruction. how many of us have paid tojoina obstruction. how many of us have paid tojoin a gym or a streaming service and then not gone to the gym more than twice a month? a huge waste of money. so citizens advice bureau has brought out a report asking why this happens and how we can help people get out of these situations and once you have paid out, it is often difficult to take your money out because the businesses don't make it particularly easy. i will talk to a member of the e—crime team.

particularly easy. i will talk to a member of the e-crime team. one of the key issues as they has to be a principle of fairness. when people sign up to these prescription services, there has to be a fearless around the terms and conditions associated with it. one of our concerns associated with it. one of our concerns is that a lot of these companies often make it very difficult for consumers to withdraw from the subscription when they want to. as some of the figures that have been brought out today, in just three months, consumers pay an average of £160 on one wanted services. that is a huge amount. they have also brought forward to this check list that consumers need to go through if they do want to cancel a subscription or to be aware of before taking one out. yes, first

and foremost, consumers need to make sure the read the terms and conditions thoroughly. it is tempting when you want to sign up to a gym membership, particularly coming up to the present period, to sign on the dotted line without being aware of what you are committing to, so they need to make sure the read terms and conditions carefully. but when it comes to cancelling the contract, they need to refer to that to make sure they are cancelling correctly. we have seen instances where consumers have simply cancelled a direct debit and think that is sufficient, but it isn't. often you have to give notice period, which can be up to six months, so consumers need to check through thoroughly before they simply cancel any payments. hit but evenif simply cancel any payments. hit but even if they have read the terms and conditions, if they think they are unfair, they should challenge them and go to the correct trade body. that has also been bought for, that you can still challenge. absolutely,

thatis you can still challenge. absolutely, that is what i hinted at the start there, that there has to be hence there, that there has to be hence the stonegate road principle of fairness. if the consumer think the terms and conditions or cancellation policy is not fair, they have the right to take that up with the company. if the company does not respond in a fairer way, the consumer could report that matter through to citizens advice and seek further help from them. thank you. the ftse 100 further help from them. thank you. the ftse100 was high, experience a cyber monday or royal engagement boost earlier on. but we have no prospect of all sales for royal memorabilia but it will spike before christmas. the 3100 is slightly in the red, concerns over brexit talks

suspected. the pound has risen against the dollar. in the past few moments, a congratulatory tweeter from mike stonegate road meghan markle's onstrea m stonegate road meghan markle's onstream father has been made. we will just we willjust keep an eye on that for you. but let's catch up on the weather forecast. an improving weather picture to take us an improving weather picture to take us through the rest of the day. the early morning cloud and rain is tending to clear out of the way with the future is coming in across north—western areas. a fair bit of

cloud around but some beautiful scenes in the peak district. looking at this satellite picture, a lot of cloud to start the day. this is sinking southwards and bringing rain, which is clearing out of the way. though such errors will continue through this evening and the first part of the night. some of the first part of the night. some of the show as well have went arenas in them up over the hills of scotland and it will feel cold. blustery winds nationwide with gusts of 30 miles an hour across eastern parts of england, perhaps reaching gale force in places. in the south, a loss of cloud around as we head into the evening. some folk are required working in and the small chance of rain in the small of the leave south west later on. through the rest of the night, those are blustery winds should keep temperatures just above freezing but it will be a cold night. the few places in northern

scotla nd night. the few places in northern scotland could dip below freezing and there will be some wintry showers with some snow over the hills and the risk of a sea stretches into tuesday. this original high pressure is setting up across the mid—atla ntic original high pressure is setting up across the mid—atlantic towards greenland and what that does is stop mild atlantic air from reaching greenland and what that does is stop mild atlantic airfrom reaching our shores and instead we are getting northerly winds. through this week, the air will get colder. this is the temperature curve for sheffield. all week, temperature as will be below average, around three degrees on thursday. looking at the weather picture for tuesday, many will have a fine day with sunshine but a number of showers around in north—western areas. the winds are coming from a northerly direction and soa coming from a northerly direction and so a far greater number of showers across the eastern coast. temperatures 7—4dc but with sunshine. sunshine on wednesday but show was affecting the eastern coast

of england and scotland. highs between 3—7. this is bbc news at 4pm. i'm jane hill, live at kensington palace, where prince harry and his fiancee meghan markle have made their first public appearance since announcing their engagement. in a statement buckingham palace said the queen and duke of edinburgh are "delighted" at the news. prince harry and meghan markle have been together forjust over a year after meeting in london in the summer of 2016. no, we're thrilled, thank you very much, to both of them. i hope they'll be very happy indeed, is all i can say. people across the country have been reacting to the news. i think it's fantastic, marvellous, yesterday mac. but they are getting married in spring 2018. they are very much in love, i think that's the basic thing. absolutely wonderful. and i'm simon mccoy.

the other headlines this hour: two pharmaceutical firms have said they'll invest more than £1 billion in the uk, creating nearly 2,000 jobs. welcome again to kensington palace, the scene of much excitement since the scene of much excitement since the news today that prince harry is to marry his american girlfriend meghan markle, the couple will marry next spring. a statement from clarence has today is that the couple became engaged in london a little earlier this month. ourfirst report, from our correspondent richard lister. royal watchers had

been anticipating this moment for months, prince harry and michael markle made their first appearance as an engaged couple —— meghan markle is a couple in a garden that had been a favourite of his mother, diana princess of wales but today is all about them. congratulations from all of us. how are you both feeling? erm, proud. and i'm very glad it's not raining as well. and meghan, how are you feeling? so happy. thanks. and tell us, how did you propose? laughter was it romantic? very. can you show us the ring? it has been revealed that the ring was designed by harry including some diamonds from his mother's collection. for the past 18 months they have done their best to keep a low profile, this is an exception when they were seen hand in hand at the games at toronto earlier this year but now they are to be married

with the wedding planned for spring next year. the news was given in a statement from clarence house at ten o'clock. his royal highness prince henry of wales and ms meghan markle are engaged to be married. news of the engagement has been warmly welcomed within the royal family. the queen and the duke of edinburgh, who celebrated their 70th wedding anniversary last week, are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness. those who have seen them together so that they are very much in love. that much was confirmed recently by meghan markle herself. in an interview for vanity fair magazine, she declared, we are a couple, we are in love. for harry the engagement brings to an end to the engagement brings to an end to the bachelor life he has enjoyed for many years while also seeking someone with whom he could settle down and start a family. twice it had seemed he had found the right person, chelsea davy, born in zimbabwe, was his girlfriend for six yea rs zimbabwe, was his girlfriend for six years until 2010, then as cressida

bonus, and act as an aristocratic british family with harry for two yea rs british family with harry for two years until 2014. in both cases the relationships found dead, partly because of the intense media scrutiny. that is something that meghan markle may be better prepared to deal with. you are pretty. good commie of hit on me, we can get it out of the way that i'm not interested. as an actress with several public roles she's used to the spotlight. beyond her acting career there are significant other dimensions to her life. and smart andi dimensions to her life. and smart and i know i would be a good lawyer. she has described herself as a strong woman of mixed race, her father is of irish descent, another african—american. she has been active in un campaigns and is a un advocate for the empowerment of women. i'm proud to be a woman a feminist. for harry and engagement

finally offers the prospect of the personal fulfilment which at times has seemed elusive. as any girl would tell you, it's sort of, oh my god, he's a prince. this was him in atv god, he's a prince. this was him in a tv interview in 2012. hugger me, i'm 27 and not so much searching for someone to fulfil the role but finding someone who would be willing to ta ke finding someone who would be willing to take it on. harry has finally found that special person. we will look at privacy and harassment laws. one of their immediate challenges will be defined privacy, in a statement soon after the relationship became public, harry made a statement saying this was not a made a statement saying this was not 9, made a statement saying this was not a game, it was his life and ms markle's life. but it will be alive in the public eye with all that entails. a modern couple finding their place in an inch and institution. richard lister, bbc news. we can now speak to our entertainment correspondent lizo mzimba.

he's been following all the developments at kensington palace. for anyone watching today who might not have heard of her because it isn't a programme that a lot of british people might have seen, what do we know about her career, what she's been working on? she's been a successful actress photos and 15 yea rs. successful actress photos and 15 years. the series she is best known for now is called suits. she plays rachel zane, a paralegal with a relationship with one of the main characters, a lot of the narrative thatis characters, a lot of the narrative that is followed to the seven series has been well that want a get together as well as legal twists. the first appearance goes back to early in the years 2000, she had a small part in the long—running series general hospital and then p°pped series general hospital and then normed up series general hospital and then popped up in an odd series called said city, the futuristic legal sci—fi drama. she had only one scene

and has in interviews about her she was so terrified that she did not wa nt to was so terrified that she did not want to make a mess of her one line, she acted alongside famous people like you when griffith, and viola davis, feature oscar winner. and since then she has been a jobbing actors looking for the right part, getting the right break and it came along finally in suits some years ago. that series really took off. it is shown by netflix in the uk. the younger generation, perhaps, may well be very familiar with it, it is a very popular series. older people might not know it but it is a well made, popular procedural law drama. she's a very, very good actress.l quick thought. i think every person i have spoken to today, we all assumed that acting is over. that this is a new phase of her life. we should remember that nobody has said that. we are just assuming out. should remember that nobody has said

that. we are just assuming outm has been widely reported that she is leaving suits, and if she is not marrying prince harry and coming to the uk, the commit to toronto is probably a little excessive, however much you enjoy playing a particular character but there is plenty of good theatre, tv and cinema in the uk. it would be a real shame in a way if she gave up acting completely because it is something she clearly enjoys. she's had a great deal of success in recent years in suits in particular. she has a very talented young actress. when her name and first came up attached to prince harry and i looked at what she had done an actress, and under the radar science fiction series called fringe was on and i remembered her in that, she stood out, she had only a couple of scenes that she was the kind of actress, you could tell the talent coming through even if the series wasn't doing as well as perhaps she and other people and the fans hoped. and when the big break came along

which is what so many actresses were kept doing she grabbed it with both hands, inhabited part brilliantly, she is very popular on the show, she's been a crucial part of its success. if it is true that she's leaving the show and i think she probably is, it will be a big loss to them in in the future. thank you, lizo mzimba, our entertainment correspondent. let's assess what america makes of all of this. what the reaction has been in meghan markle's home country. the americans love this kind of story and perhaps alleged be a bit more off the leash then we are here. absolutely, the us media are excited about this. it's a good bit of distraction from the news of

politics that has dominated the news lately, there's always been a sense of intrigue in america towards the royals because we don't have the monarchy but when you add the fact that meghan markle is american and headlines say that she's going to become an american princess, despite the fact that you will not hold the title. so a lot of interest on the networks, the morning shows and magazines have been dominated by this news. they are covering every angle, already speculating about whether we'll go on honeymoon, details about the ring and its design, but the proposal and prince harry, asking meghan markle's pa rents of harry, asking meghan markle's parents of the mission, all the fine details. we've seen some reaction, meghan markle lives in toronto, justin trudeau tweeted congratulations and best wishes to the couple and wendell pierce, who plays her father on screen centres

congratulations to his tv daughter and said, harry, you will have the tv for the's blessing! and americans, as far as you can generalise, have they more interested in him or in her? to give you a sense, last year as the news came out that they were dating and things look serious, she was the most searched for actress on google in 2016. there is always interest in the sands of princess diana because of how much princess diana was loved in this country and prince harry is certainly someone who went from bad boy antics to charitable contributions, he's been in the us press. but i think the interest is in this american actress who has now been thrown into the spotlight, who will be married to prince harry, and already people are looking at what kind of royal style she will choose, at her past background, that is what we are seeing a lot in the us

networks and magazines, lots of profiles of meghan markle and the back story to the romance. thank you very much. i'll let you get back to watching all the tv reaction. we have heard that the queen and prince philip are delighted, the duke and duchess of cambridge say it has been wonderful getting to know meghan and they are thrilled. david sillito has more. prince charles was out this morning looking at community and green initiatives. but the first topic was of course... congratulations, sir, what do you think about the engagement? thank you, very thrilled, thank you very much, for both of them, i hope they will be very happy indeed, that is all i can say. the prime minister offered her warmest congratulations — this is, she says, a time of huge celebration for two people in love.

and jeremy corbyn at his press conference, the first matter to be addressed was the engagement. look, first of all, my congratulations to harry and meghan — i wish them well, i hope they have a great time and great fun together, and having met harry a couple of times i am sure they are going to have a great deal of fun together. a big engagement announcement from kensington palace, prince harry and american actress meghan markle are engaged. yay! unsurprisingly the engagement was also headline news in america. have you heard, breaking news out of london, drum roll please, prince harry and american meghan markle are engaged to be married. hip hip, and a hooray, congratulations to them. it even managed to bring a few smiles out on the streets of a rather damp and dreary monday. we are so thrilled, wonderful news. really great. are you excited they are getting married spring 2018? yes, lovely.

be nice if it was a nice day as well! lovely. what do you ladies think about it? i think it's great, another royal wedding, something to look forward to in times of trouble. maybe it will make my bloke propose to me now so we can have a joint one. laughter congratulations to prince harry and whatever her name is. meghan markle. meghan markle — have a happy and long life together. the archbishop of canterbury also said he was absolutely delighted. a cheerful news headline, for once. david sillito, bbc news. certainly a lot of comment on social media. let's talk about what this says about the royal family in 2017. with me is afua hirsch, who has

written a book called brit—ish. with me is afua hirsch, who has written a book called brit-ish. you get to and going. for someone like me who is british and like the royal family have always felt a bit irrelevant, they are a powerful symbol of what it is to be british but they represent a british and as i don't relate to. we hearfrom our politicians that we are multicultural, yet to have the family at the apex of our society com pletely family at the apex of our society completely non—diverse represents something troubling. this is, for someone like me, i can look at the royalfamily someone like me, i can look at the royal family and see someone i can relate to, it is notjust that meghan markle has black heritage committee is mixed raced and she hasn't tried to hide it, she has been vocal about it and said she is

proud of her identity, it has made her who her is. we are becoming more and more diverse. this makes the royalfamily were and more diverse. this makes the royal family were relevant to a new generation. i think that's important. you think, it will, going forward , important. you think, it will, going forward, you said that you didn't have any particularly strong feelings, you did not feel in connection with the royal family. i am really struck today that we are discussing the fact that she is american and we are also discussing, or have been, the fact that she has been married before. because divorce, rightly or wrongly has been an issue in royal circles. yet we have not discussed the fact that she is mixed race. this because it doesn't matter and we don't care? but it shouldn't matter? this is something i welcome about this engagement, if you look at the reaction when it first came into the public domain was noise about race and thinly veiled comments saying she was straight out of compton and she was straight out of compton and she wasn't the visual society blonde, would harry have to go and

have tea with somebody with dreadlocks. and prince harry in something unprecedented, but a statement saying that this is racist and it is not acceptable. to have a senior royal taking a stand on something like that was significant andi something like that was significant and i think represented a change. the whole journey of their relationship has forced us to grow up relationship has forced us to grow up as relationship has forced us to grow upasa relationship has forced us to grow up as a society. we all could about race and reluctant to address some of the skeletons in our closet, the way we talk about it, so anything that brings it to the fore and forces us to grapple with and publicly is, i think healthy. so even though it is not the intended point of their relationship it is a side effect that has created positive repercussions in the national consciousness. that's so interesting. because she has taken that platform, we've talked about her promoting equality for women and working in that field with the united nations, who work in that sphere is interesting. would you

expect her, come next spring when she is a member of the british royal family, to use that position to talk about race issues, to be that upfront about it, is she fulfilling that role just by being there? they are symbolic so having somebody who is proud of being mixed race in that position means something. it's not a revolutionary role, to be married to the fifth in line to the throne, i don't think we will see class and prejudice overturned overnight, but it will be interesting to see if she can be vocal as she did before, not just in terms of our heritage, she has a career that she has worked ha rd has a career that she has worked hard for, she has overcome adversity. that makes a relevant to so many young women, so many young people, it would be a shame if she stopped being vocal and active as

she has been in the past. i hope she continues to be outspoken and own her own life and her own story because i think that is what makes this positive for people like me. really good to talk to you. thank you for coming along to a blustery kensington palace. there's no los angeles weather here, that's for sure. thank you, afua hirsch, author of the book brit—ish. back to you, simon. thank you, jane, will be back to kensington palace, later. one issue arising from this is whether there should be a bank holiday. he says that theresa may's spokesman says that theresa may's spokesman says there are no plans for a bank holiday to celebrate this wedding. but he makes the point that there is a precedent, downing street says there is not, he says there is, there is not, he says there is, there was one for princess and's wedding. downing street say, no

plans, there's a hashtag, bank holiday, now doing the rounds on twitter, you can always contact us. contact us if you want to respond, if you would like a bank holiday to celebrate that stay with the rest of the country. you're watching afternoon live. let's bring you some other news today. six british men who've been in prison in india for more than four years have been freed by an appeals court. they were jailed on weapons charges while working on ships in the indian ocean. they said they were security guards, employed to combat piracy. our correspondent sanjoy majumder sent this report from chennai — it begins with the moment relatives heard the news during an interview with the bbc. all 35 released. oh, my god! a short text message with the news they have been waiting to hearforfour years. yvonne machugh's partner billy irving and joanne tomlinson's brotherjohn armstrong are among six former british soldiers acquitted

of smuggling arms into india. it's an emotional moment for the families of the six men. they'd campaigned long and hard to bring them home, and were nervous in the hours leading up to the verdict. it's official — the lawyer'sjust messaged. we've been waiting for four years so we have kind of got used to the waiting, but that doesn't mean it gets any easier, especially at times like this when we know the judge has written his verdict — he knows what he's going to say. we just want him to announce it. the men were on board this ship, the american—owned mv seaman guard ohio, when it entered the southern indian coast in october 2013. they were accused of illegally possessing arms, a charge they denied, saying they were legally carrying weapons as part of anti—piracy operations to protect merchant ships. in january last year, to their horror, they were convicted and sentenced to five years in prison.

this is where they have spent their time, behind the high walls of a prison outside the southern indian city of chennai. conditions have been grim. they have slept on the floor and lost considerable weight, with minimal contact with theirfamilies. once the judge's order is officially communicated to the prison authorities the six former british soldiers will finally walk free, emerging from the gates you see behind me, the chennai central prison where they have been kept for the better part of four years. they have spent several anxious weeks expecting to hear of their fate and finally they are free to go home and be reunited with their families. years of frustration and desperation have finally given way to joy as news of their release is shared swiftly with friends and family. gratitude for those who have given their support. thank you for everything you've ever done for us.

sanjoy majumder, bbc news, chennai. the indonesian authorities have urged people living near mount agung — a volcano on the island of bali — to move to safety, because of fears it's about to erupt. last night the island's main airport in the captial denpasar was shut, leaving thousands of tourists stranded. officials have ordered that 100,000 residents need to leave the immediate area around the volcano, but so far only 40,000 have done so. the volcano first began belching thick smoke last week — the last time it erupted — in 1963, when more than 1,000 people died. tom burridge reports on the latest. a giant cloud of rocks, glass, crystal and gas spews out of bali's tallest volcano. mount agung started stirring two months ago, but the force of nature here has taken another unpredictable turn. i'm very concerned for the people within the exclusion zones. i really hope everyone manages

to get out of the way. the biggest worries are the mudflows which began several hours ago now. if this develops and starts to produce hot, rapidly moving avalanches down the volcano, that is a very big concern. life does go on nearby. many remain here even as the authorities work to evacuate 100,000 people. the hope, that there won't be the death and destruction wrought by mount agung last time round. that was in 1963. in a country with a history of volcanic eruptions, this was one of the worst. archive footage: ash and lava leave 100,000 acres forever unproductive. more than 1,000 died. the orange glow today, magma visible at the top of the volcano,

a sign that a full—scale eruption could come soon. as the magma's moved up through the volcano, it has heated water inside, creating steam and pressure. breaking of fragments of rock and hurling it thousands of metres into the air. so for weeks some have been living in temporary accommodation, ever since tiny earthquakes caused by the volcano were detected. but others in the many villages surrounding mount agung have no choice but to stay put. translation: i'm scared but i don't have the money to leave. and this morning, disruption as the island's airport closed. thousands of holidays and journeys affected. we have got no information because the gates to check—in have been closed, indefinitely. some tourists, though, staying put to take it all in. this could be a relatively minor eruption over a long period of time, or something more serious.

even for experts, predicting what a volcano will do next is an impossible task. tom burridge, bbc news. now time for the weather with chris. jane in kensington gardens said it was chilly. it is. it's going to turn cold again, simon. really the reason is the jet stream. these other fast wins high up reason is the jet stream. these otherfast wins high up in the atmosphere of the earth, they are taking a very big path, high amplitude pattern, it does a couple of things. these patterns are stable, they don't move much from east to west. the other thing is, at the moment with a pattern like this we have the mild air stuck in the western atlantic, and we have coming our

way, a graph of temperatures, the sheffield as an example. today eight celsius, average for this time of year. by thursday temperatures should reach three celsius. i know there has been snow, are we heading into a cold period? define the cold. on thursday with these temperatures, we've got snow in the scottish mountains, you have to go up 400 metres before you find the snow, as the air gets colder so that the snow can come down lower and lower, by thursday and perhaps even wednesday will get snowed down to low levels across parts of the north—east of the uk. parts of north—east england, they are the favoured spots, they will turn milder into the weekend, then we will get another surge of cold air next week. what about

christmas day. i can't do thatjust yet! you will be the second person to know if you will get a white christmas, i'll be down there in a flash. as far as today has gone quite a bit of cloud and rain to start with, across southern england in particular but that has largely cleared, followed by quite a bit of cloud, we still got snow on the hills of the peak districts of northern england, the cold air them with others across the north west of the uk and is working its way southwards. a lot of shower clouds in the north—west of the uk, a little area of north pressure —— and pressure disappeared into the north sea, showers coming in across northern and western areas, still a gusty, cold wind, nationwide we have seen gusts of 30 miles an hour which makes it feel quite chilly despite temperatures as high as eight or nine celsius, higher than temperatures should be towards evening. towards the south—west we

could see more general rain in the next few hours, something to watch out for, just as time, the rain won't last long because it will clear, showers across the north—west, we've talked about the risk of snow in the hills of scotland, mostly risk of snow in the hills of scotla nd, mostly a bove risk of snow in the hills of scotland, mostly above 400 metres elevation, that cold enough for icy stretches on untreated roads here, patches of ice in northern ireland. elsewhere with breeze keeping temperatures a couple of degrees above freezing, nevertheless it will feel cold as you had outside first thing tuesday morning. tuesday on the face of it not a bad day, most areas will see sunshine particularly across inland areas, but officials across inland areas, but officials across north—western areas, with a change of wind direction coming in northerly, we will see washer was feeding into the east of scotland and down the eastern coast of england as well —— more showers. temperatures down on today, between five and seven celsius, colder still

on wednesday, start cold, plenty of sunshine but showers around the irish sea coasts and they will work in down the east of england and scotland. could be some wintry weather potentially reaching lower levels and heavier showers as the heir progressively turns that bit colder. that is your latest weather. -- is colder. that is your latest weather. —— is the air progressively turns that bit colder. this is bbc news. our latest headlines: it's official — prince harry is to marry his girlfriend, the american actress meghan markle as it is announced the couple intend to get married next year. clarence house broke the news this morning. in a statement buckingham palace said the queen and duke of edinburgh were "delighted" at the news as did the prince of wales. we are thrilled thank you very much. we are thrilled thank you very much. we hope they will be very happy, indeed. today's other headlines — two pharmaceutical firms have said they'll invest more than £1 billion in the uk, creating nearly 2,000 jobs in what the government is calling a vote of confidence. freed after four years, six former british soldiers imprisoned on weapons charges in india since 2013 are set to be released.

tributes have been paid to the three children and two adults killed when a stolen car crashed in leeds at the weekend. and ordered to evacuate — thousands flee as authorities in bali warn a volcano on the island is in imminent danger of erupting. sport now on afternoon live with holly. a bad start for england in the ashes? iam i am starting to think that maybe harry and meghan were watching the cricket and thought they would cheer eve ryo ne cricket and thought they would cheer everyone up. by the end of day four, australia just needed 56 runs. it was done and dusted by lunch in brisbane. the result really piles the pressure on england. they will be looking ahead to the second match in adelaide, a day—night game on saturday and they will need to win that before any murmurings of a whitewash begin. there are murmurings off field as well? that's right. most of us greet people with

a handshake maybe a hug, but not jonny bairstow who allegedly head—butted australia's cameron ba ncroft head—butted australia's cameron bancroft in a pub. both parties say it was not malicious and england's management said there will be no disciplinary action, but it has taken our attention away from the cricket for a moment anyway as andy swiss reports. head to head on the pitch. and, it seems, off it. australia cruised to victory. the focus was onjonny bairstow behind the stumps. and cameron bancroft in front. what did happen between them in a bar in perth for weeks ago? well, after hitting the winning runs, bancroft revealed bairstow‘s rather bizarre greeting. i got into a very amicable conversation withjonny and, yeah, he just greeted me with a head—butt, kind of thing. i was expecting a handshake. it wasn't the greeting of choice that i was expecting. as for bairstow himself, he insisted the incident had been

blown out of all proportion. cameron and i enjoyed the evening and continued to do so. there was no intent nor malice about anything during the evening. as you can see, out there today, there is no animosity between myself and cameron, or any of the other australian players. england say there will be no disciplinary action againstjonny bairstow but after losing this match it's a distraction that they hardly need, and one that raises more questions about players‘ behaviour. after the incident involving ben stokes in bristol and now this, the ecb say they‘ll be reminding the squad of their responsibilities and one former england captain says the players should be more careful. to arrive in australia, you‘ve got to get overjet lag and many teams go out for a drink, and jonny bairstow and his team—mates had on that night.

but with what‘s gone on back home in bristol, and everything that is surrounding this team at the minute, the lads have got to be a little bit smarter. and so, england‘s ashes have begun in defeat and controversy. what was an already tough challenge is now a whole lot tougher. west brom‘s interim head coach gary megson has been told he‘ll still be in charge of their premier league match against newcastle tomorrow night. west brom sit 17th in the table and are reported to be close to appointing alan pardew as the permanent replacement to tony pulis, who was sacked as manager last week. but megson says he doesn‘t know how long that‘ll take. no idea. they will make their mind up no idea. they will make their mind up on who they want to be the candidate. i‘m just doing this job and just for as long as i‘m told and then we will see what happens after that. so, you know, i‘m sure they‘ll ta ke that. so, you know, i‘m sure they‘ll take the time and get the person

that they want and then like everybody else you make decisions and there are consequences to your decision and it‘s for other people tojudge, not decision and it‘s for other people to judge, not myself. sam alla rdyce could sam allardyce could be back in contention for a certainjob sam allardyce could be back in contention for a certain job at everton. there is more on website. romelu lukaku will face no further punishment from the fa, for an apparent kick at brighton defender gayton bong. the alleged incident wasn‘t seen by the referee at the time but retrospective action could have meant the striker was banned for three games. a panel of three former premier league referees failed to all agree it was deemed worthy of a red card. wales‘ ross moriarty willjoin dragons from gloucester, for the start of next season. the british and irish lion has never played his club rugby in wales, but the move was made necessary by their new selection policy and follows team—mate george north‘s return back to his home country. the policy means players taking up new contracts outside wales

must have won 60 caps to be eligible to play for the national team — moriarty has won 17 caps. that‘s all the sport for now. i‘ll have more for you in the next hour. police investigating a car which crashed in leeds police appealed for information about the crash to come forward. i ,we are , we are looking for anyone who may have seen anything or the black renault clio to come forward and tell us about it. we are interested in the manner of the vehicle‘s driving leading up to it colliding with this tree. and anyone that has any information, i would appreciate it, if they would come forward. these are obviously a particularly

harrowing and tragic set of circumstances for us. we have lost five members of our community including three children and our thoughts and condolences are with the families of those involved. we are doing our best to support them. we are working together with the local authority to support the community as well and in particularly local schools because obviously some of the people involved was schoolchildren. we are trying to support them together with our safe schools partnership offices. i understand that emotions are running high in the community. i would just urge people to support each other at what is a really difficult time. two pharmaceutical firms — one american, the other german — have said they will invest more than £1 billion in the uk, creating more than 1,800 jobs. the government said these biotech deals illustrated confidence in its industrial strategy, aimed at supporting more

research and development, encouraging firms to embrace new technology, and boosting the economy. our economics correspondent andy verity reports. high levels of investment harnessing cutting edge ideas, the robots at this coventry manufacturing centre cost millions to design and programme, and the car doors they turn out can compete across the world. with britain‘s weak productivity record, though, innovation like this is very much the exception, not the rule. we are looking how we translate good ideas from academia and take them into industry, and if we can utilise that for other sectors, including things like infrastructure and construction, i think we have a great opportunity for the future. the government chose a biomedical research institute as the venue for its industrial strategy launch, including bigger tax breaks to encourage innovative ideas, re—skilling people with better maths and technical education, investment in infrastructure like 5g, improving the business environment through partnerships with sectors like life sciences, and making places were productive with better transport links. on the basis of setting that out, which is in this strategy document, these companies already recognise

this is a long—term strategy, have confidence in it, and are making big investment decisions today that are creating good jobs around the country. but it‘s not in high—tech industries but low—tech, low—wage companies that productivity is weakest. the new money announced today, £725 million, is spread over three years. compare it to total government spending of £780 billion, and it‘s a small fraction — just 0.03%. when they talk about industrial strategy, they mainly focus on the high—tech sectors, like aerospace, pharmaceuticals, life sciences, and automotive sectors, where productivity is very high already. the problem we have is in the rest of the economy, in what you might call the everyday economy, sectors like retail, social care, tourism and hospitality, light manufacturing, where our productivity is considerably worse than most of our european competitors, where there‘s tremendous variation between firms, and that‘s really where the effort needs to go. many private companies do have funds to invest in skills and technology

that could boost each worker‘s productivity, but since the financial crash, directors have been uncertain — will there be enough demand for their goods for that investment to pay off? and with brexit looming, overcoming that uncertainty isn‘t getting any easier. after several days of intense speculation in the media prince harry has announced that he has got engaged to his american actress girlfriend meghan markle. the couple, who met through mutual friends 16 months ago, will marry in spring next year. the queen and the duke of edinburgh have said they are "delighted" and the duke and duchess of cambridge have said that they are "very excited". a short while ago, the couple answered questions from reporters at kensington palace. congratulations from all of us. how are you both feeling? erm, thrilled. and i‘m very glad it‘s

not raining as well. and meghan, how are you feeling? so happy. thanks. and tell us, how did you propose? laughter. was it romantic? very. when did you know... the very first time we met. meghan, can you show us the ring, please? thank you. the news of the couple‘s royal engagement has brought smiles on the faces of at least some of the public on a damp november day. i think it‘s fantastic. i think it's fantastic. lovely. marvellous. and they are getting married in spring 2018.|j marvellous. and they are getting married in spring 2018. i think they are very much in love. absolutely wonderful i think it is another sign of how modern the royal family are andi of how modern the royal family are and i think it‘s fantastic. it‘s good. well, you know, over in the us the royalty has a great following andl the royalty has a great following and i follow them somewhat i guess, but i'm sure people are happy about

it especially as she is american.” hadn't heard until you just told me and that is exciting. it is very exciting and i'm happy for him. he appears to be happy, at least in the news. i haven't really thought about it to tell you the truth. no, we don't over think the royals. good luck to them, but... early whier i spoke to a different commentator.m will be a different wedding to william and kate. you get the impression that harry is delighted to be slipping down the order of succession because it gives him greater freedom. we don‘t know where they will marry. there has been speculation about being a divorcee whether meghan can get married in a church. one wonders if he might want a different ceremony. they are not going to be going off to vegas and

getting hitched out there. it is going to be here to a degree, protocol has to be observed. there will be traditionalism within the ceremony. you get the impression in this is a royal couple who will break the royal mould and do things differently. and enjoy life. clearly, two people, very happy, very much in love? absolutely. i mean, from that photo call, you could see from the body language and the arms around each other. you could see it was meghan had her hand on the small of harry‘s back. i wonder if she was more confident than he was! you could hear a nervous giggle as he walked up to the photographers. but they do seem very much in love and i think that first public appearance at the invictus games, we are talking about doing things differently. that was so different from the wearing of the ripped jeans to the hand holding, to that kiss, you know, in the public, in the vip box, notjust watched by meghan‘s mother, harry‘s future mother—in—law, but the whole world.

you don‘t see that sort of public display of affection when it comes to the royals and it feels refreshing. he answered the question, "when did you first know this was the one?" he said when we first met. i was told when they had this early date at soho house he knew from the outset that this was someone special. this was someone different. it helped enormously that she is at heart a humanitarian. she is really passionate about the charity work that she does and they have that in common. they are united in their desire to use their fame and celebrity to put that to the causes that are important to him. for harry to find someone is fantastic. they are giving a broadcast interview which will be shown at six o‘clock tonight. what are the questions you would want to put to her? when did this happen and tell us a little bit about the early

meeting, that first encounter? how on earth did you manage to keep this romance a secret for the best part of six months? this is not anyone. this is prince harry, the most famous, eligible bachelor on the planet and they managed to keep it quiet. he has that public sympathy because people will be etched in their minds that image of him on the day of his mother‘s funeral. he really has got the public‘s heart with him, i think, really has got the public‘s heart with him, ithink, has really has got the public‘s heart with him, i think, has he?” really has got the public‘s heart with him, ithink, has he? ithink you‘re right. this is a boy who we watched walk behind his mother‘s cortege. he has lived his adult life under the incredible scrutiny of the world‘s gaze and the media limelight. we have watched him come up limelight. we have watched him come up and come off the rails and fight on the front line and fall in love, fall out of love and finally, find someone who he seems really happy with and there is a great deal of goodwill. even if you are not a royalist prince harry connects with

the public in a unique way and i think people are really, really happy for him. in a moment the business news. first a look at the headlines on afternoon live. prince harry has said he‘s "thrilled" to be engaged to meghan markle. speaking for the first time since announcing they are to marry next spring, the american actress said she was "so happy". the government launches a plan to reverse the slowdown in britain‘s productivity and growth. 100,000 people near bali‘s mount agung have been ordered to evacuate — as officials fear a major eruption. here‘s your business headlines on afternoon live. the government‘s plan to boost uk industry ahead of the country leaving the eu is due to be launched later. the industrial strategy is aimed at lifting growth, which official forecasts suggest will slow due to the uk‘s poor productivity performance. it is cyber monday.

it is cyber monday. it seems shopping on tablets and mobiles is where we like to do our spending. todayis spending. today is predicted to be the biggest day yet for internet sales. the number of young people acting as money mules has doubled in the last four years. cyber monday, it is meghan monday! it is cyber monday. we woke up this morning and they were talking about cyber monday. who knew, it has gone. it is all meghan and harry. you‘re right, it is another retail milestone on our way to christmas which isjust 28 milestone on our way to christmas which is just 28 days away. black friday on friday, we saw the 12% boost in online sales, but high street sales dropped, but today is meant to be bigger. really big for

online retailers. last year we saw online retailers. last year we saw online sales totalling £1.1 billion. something we have been covering the two huge deals biotech industry investing in britain? it was unveiled by the business secretary. it is part of the government‘s flagship industrial strategy detailing how it will spend £725 million over three years in construction and innovation and includes the two big pharmaceutical deals. there will be a new research centre in london creating 950 jobs and a german company will expand in manchester. the government says that both of these deals should be seen asa both of these deals should be seen as a big vote of confidence in the pharmaceutical industry. and time magazine has been sold? indeed. rather controversially, simon. it has been sold to meredith corporation for £2.1 billion. it is a deal backed by the billionaire brothers charles and david. they are

known for supporting economically conservative agendas. when it was last mooted it was going to be sold a while back, there were protests on the streets of new york. anyway, let‘s talk about these stories. let‘s speak to james bevan, the chief investment officer at ccla investment management. cyber monday, how are the shoppers looking? it looks a positive number for the online retailers. clearly, therefore, not such a positive day for those depending on a traditional store formality, but any spending at this time of year is going to have to be weighed off against less spending in the rush up to christmas, but companies are celebrating today. yes, indeed. as we we re celebrating today. yes, indeed. as we were just saying. expected to be bigger perhaps than black friday that we saw on friday. i want to talk to you now about the two big pharmaceutical deals. the government are saying they should be seen as a vote of confidence. how do you read them? i think they are hugely

important for the british economy. we will see large companies investing in knowledge—based industries within the uk. that's got to be good news for the long—term shift up in productivity. i know the loss of the commentary has been about well, this an antidote for brexit. far from it, about well, this an antidote for brexit. farfrom it, the productivity problems have been there for years and became apparent after the global financial crisis. whether it will be sufficient to turn the dial enough to drive the economy back up to the levels of growth that we require, i don't know, but it is a step in the right direction. james, let's talk about time magazine being sold. as ijust mentioned briefly earlier with simon, it is a controversial sale for many particularly over in the states because of the billionaire brothers that back the company that support it. can you just expand on that a little bit? they have had a very conservative attitude towards politics and they are putting up £650 million from their private equity funds. now that said, they

have a diverse business portfolio already and they have described this as simplya already and they have described this as simply a passive investment, meaning they are putting the money in to invest and not going to have editorial control or indeed' seat at the board and that's been confirmed by meredith who are the us company who are taking control of time. ok. james, really good to talk to you, james, really good to talk to you, james bevan there, many, many thanks. now, the markets, our last look. yes, how did they end meghan monday? the ftse100 began well. ending the day 0.3% down into the red. largely due to what are perceived as the stalled brexit talks, but we have seen the pound rise against the dollar a little bit. eurozone stocks have been in et red all day. concerns over political situations this germany and angela merkel trying to form her coalition government. easyjet the top riser on the ftse today, ending up 20 points and... is that people booking trips

for the spring out of the country or... yes. no! no! no, it's not! and that‘s how the pound is doing against the euro. it buys you one euro and 11 cents. simon, really good to talk to you. let‘s get more on that story dominating the headlines. prince harry said he is thrilled to be engaged to meghan markle. the american actress said she was so happy. earlier i spoke to natasha bird about the impact and commercial popularity of the royal family on wider society. we have seen this effect with kate middleton and with her children. everything they wear sells out. it will be a terrific boom to brands but it is a fantastic opportunity for these women to celebrate brands that are up and coming or that have a great british

heritage. my colleague jane hill made the point no one know who is made the point no one know who is made his suit, maybe by the end of the day, we will. in the modern world, we are talking about a world meghan markle knows perhaps more about than most. she is an actress and she is american and divorced. this is something she celebrated when she wrote the essays for your magazine? in one of her essays that she wrote for us, she talked about how with power, with fame comes great opportunity, but also responsibility and it is one of the things that meghan markle has said throughout her career that she recognises her fame as a platform to do other things and so being in suits was wonderful. it was her career. she made a strong case for herself as an actress, but she has a lwa ys herself as an actress, but she has always used it to do something for the greater good as well and has made it very clear so far, that that is her intention and i don‘t see any reason why that will change now she is marrying harry. i'm guessing that your magazine would like the next

article to be written by her for you as well? yes. well, she has written for us twice already and hopefully the nature of the fact her coming back to us is a sign that she thinks we are a good platform for her words we are a good platform for her words we would love her to talk again, of course. she typifies things that are in tune with our brand‘s dna, we are a modern, feminist brand for women. she typifies those things. she is strong and strident and openly feminist and done great things for women in charity. she is a brilliant ambassadorfor women in charity. she is a brilliant ambassador for everything we stand for. it is interesting you use those words because she is marrying into the british royal family for whom those words bf been alien and yet we are looking at a different type of royal family now and this couple, and we are looking at pictures of them now, represent something different because he will be sixth in line to the throne after the third child of william and kate is born. there‘s freedom that goes with

that position, isn‘t there? born. there‘s freedom that goes with that position, isn't there? there is. i mean, but also i think it‘s just wonderful of the royal family to be so carefully changing with the times and they are finding more and more ways to be receptive to and reflective of the society around them and you know what, we are a multi—cultural, ethnic melting pot of who celebrates outspoken women and it‘s almost the fact that the royal family are making no show of the fact that these things in her background are relevant. it is just harry fell in love with a fantastic woman and he gets to marry her and that‘s cool and hopefully we will approach the same way throughout their marriage. there is a lot of cynicism. i‘m getting stick on twitter and i‘ve done nothing yet! the images of the two of them standing there happy, you wish them nothing, but happiness? why would

you wish them anything else? we celebrate the fact that harry fell in love with someone. she is objectively a really cool, intelligent woman. is also great. what is there to critique? she is american. maybe she will make us lose a bit of our british sin is a nism and adopt a bit of the we can do anything that the americans... we should be going yeah? why not? that was natasha bird. that‘s it from your afternoon live team for today, next the bbc news at five. time for a look at the weather. we will continue to see a fair number of blustery showers. there will be snow in the showers over the higher ground in scotland where things could turn icy for a time, but largely the winds keeping temperatures above freezing for many of us. it will feel chilly though

overnight. looking at the weather this week, we have got a big ridge of high pressure that‘s stopping mild atlantic winds from reaching our shores and instead, we get the cold northerly winds. the air will get colder day by day this week. if this is the temperature curve in sheffield, the temperatures are below average. the average is eight celsius, but on thursday, it will be about three celsius. so a cold week in store for us. plenty of sunshine around on tuesday after a cold start to the day. again, we will see plenty of showers across north western areas. snow on the hills of scotla nd western areas. snow on the hills of scotland and we will see an increasing number of showers as well for eastern coasts of england and scotla nd for eastern coasts of england and scotland too and that‘s your weather. i‘mjane hill at kensington palace where prince harry has announced his engagement to american actress meghan markle. prince harry said he was "thrilled" and ms markle said she was "so happy" as the couple posed for photographers this afternoon. they will marry next spring.

the ring designed by the prince contains diamonds that belonged to his mother. the queen and duke of edinburgh said they were "delighted" at the news, as was prince charles. no, we're thrilled, thank you very much, for both of them. i hope they'll be very happy indeed. that's all i can say. and the other main stories on bbc news at 5. two pharmaceutical firms have said they‘ll invest more than a billion pounds in the uk, creating nearly 2000 jobs. emotional tributes after three children and two adults were killed when a stolen car crashed in leeds at the weekend.