now on bbc news, from the engagement of prince harry and meghan markle, to the retirement from royal duties of the duke of edinburgh, sarah campbell looks back on the key events in review 2017: the royal year. reporter: congratulations from all of us! how are you both feeling? thrilled! this was the year in which prince harry introduced his new leading lady, the american actress, meghan markle. the fact that i fell in love with meghan so incredibly quickly, was sort of confirmation to me that everything, all the stars were aligned, everything was perfect. after 70 years of public service, the duke of edinburgh, britain's longest—serving royal consort, hung up his hat and retired from royal duties. prince george had his own milestone moment —

his first day of school. and flexing their royal muscles in an effort to put the issue of mental health firmly on the national agenda. after weeks of fevered speculation came confirmation that prince harry, the fifth in line to the throne, was engaged to the american actress, meghan markle. the happy couple appeared in the grounds of kensington palace, which will be her new home. this was only the second time they had appeared together for the cameras. reporter: harry, when did you know she was the one? the very first time we met! later, in a candid interview with the bbc‘s mishal husain, they revealed they'd met on a blind date set up by a mutual friend. in early november, while preparing a roast chicken dinner,

harry popped the question. it was just an amazing surprise. it was so sweet and natural and very romantic. he got on one knee. of course. was it an instant yes from you? yes, as a matter of fact, i could barely let him finish proposing. i said, "can i say yes now?!" she didn't even let me finish. she said, "can i say yes, can i say yes?" then there was hugs i had the ring in my finger. i was like, "can i give you the ring?" she was, like, "oh, yes, the ring!" so, no, it was a really nice moment, just the two of us, and i think i managed to catch her by surprise as well. the fact that i fell in love with meghan so incredibly quickly was sort of confirmation to me that everything, all of the stars were aligned, everything was just perfect. it was this beautiful woman had just sort of literally tripped and fell into my life, i had fell into her life, and the fact that i know that she will be unbelievably good at the job part of it as well, is obviously a huge relief to me because she will be able to deal with everything else

that comes with it. in the case of your relationship, unlike for most people, there is this whole layer of what it means to get involved with someone from the royal family, how much of a sense did you have, meghan, of the enormity of what you were getting into? what it might mean for your life? i think i can very safely say, as naive as it sounds now, having gone through this learning curve in the past year and a half, i didn't have any understanding ofjust what it would be like. i don't think either of us did, we both said that, even though we knew that it would be... i tried to warn you as much as possible but i think both of us were totally surprised by the reaction after the first five, six months that we had to ourselves, of what actually happened from then. so i think you can have as many conversations as you want and try to prepare as much as possible but we were totally unprepared for what

happened after that. the scrutiny? well, all sorts. and some of that scrutiny — and you ended up making a very public statement about it — some of that scrutiny was centred around your ethnicity, meghan. when you realized that, what did you think? of course it is disheartening. you know, it is a shame that that is the climate in this world, to focus that much on that, or that that would be discriminatory in that sense, but i think, at the end of the day, i am reallyjust proud of who i am and where i come from and we have never put any focus on that, we have just focused on who we are as a couple. it is an immense change, you are getting a new country out of it, a husband, obviously, but also giving up your career. sounds nice, doesn't it? yes, it does sound nice. but i don't see it as giving anything up, ijust see it as a change. it is a new challenge. it is a new chapter. and also keep in mind, i have been working on my show seven years. so we were very, very fortunate to be able to have that sort of longevity on a series and, for me, once we hit the 100 episode mark, i thought, you know what?

i have ticked this box and i feel very proud of the work i have done there and now it is time, as you said, work as a team with you? and meghan, your parents, do you think while very happy for you, obviously, do you think they have worried about the scale of what you're getting into? well, i'm sure at the onset, both my parents and my close friends, were concerned because we got very quickly swept up in a media storm that was not part of my life before that but they also had never seen me so happy. and once my friends were able to really meet harry and my mum, who we spent a lot of time with, it was so much fun. your mum is amazing. it was just obvious that, no matter what we were being put through, that it was just temporary and that we were going to be able to get through that

so everybody was really happy. he's talked to my dad a few times, he has not been able to meet him just yet, but it has all been worth every effort. have you met the queen? i have, yes. a couple of times. what was that like? it is incredible. to be able to meet her through his lens, notjust with his honour and respect for her as the monarch, but the love that he has for her as his grandmother. all of those layers have been so important for me, so when i met her i had such a deep understanding and, of course, incredible respect for being able to have the time with her. she is an incredible woman. and the corgis took to you straightaway! that's true. for the last 33 years i have been barked at! this one walks in and just absolutely nothing. just laying on my feet during tea, it was very sweet. your ring, tell us about your ring. the ring is obviously yellow gold because that is her favourite.

and the main stone itself i sourced from botswana and the little diamonds either side are from my mother's jewellery collection to make sure she is with us on this crazy journey together. it is beautiful, and he designed it. it is incredible. yeah. make sure it stays on that finger! of course! what does it mean to you to have those stones on your finger, that once belonged to princess diana? i think everything about harry's thoughtfulness and the inclusion of that and obviously not being able to meet his mom, it is so important for me to know that she is a part of this with us. what do you think your mother would have thought of meghan or said about meghan? they would have been as thick as thieves, without question. she would be over the moon, jumping up and down, so excited for me.

she would have probably been best friends with meghan. it is days like today that i really miss having her around and being able to share the happy news but with the ring and with everything else going on, i'm sure she's... she's with us. i am sure she is with us, yeah, jumping up and down somewhere else. meghan‘s soon to be in—laws could not have been happier. reporter: congratulations, sir. what do you think about the engagement? very kind. we are thrilled, thank you very much, for both of them. i hope they'll be very happy indeed. that is all i can say. absolutely thrilled, it is brilliant. as i said, america's loss is our gain. for me personally, i hope it means he stays out of my fridge! stop him scrounging off of my food as he's done in the last few years! deeply excited. despite freezing temperatures, the people of nottingham gave them a very warm welcome. this was meghan‘s first

royal walkabout and she handled it with aplomb. she seems really full of life and down to earth as well. my gosh, actually, i think she is wonderful, i watched interviews and everything, i think she is great. meghan has committed to the uk. she will apply for british citizenship and has left suits, the tv show which made her famous. thank you so much. congratulations! royal fans have until may to get their flags and hats ready for the couple's wedding at windsor castle. a very cold day here in nottingham does seem a world away from los angeles and the acting world but this is what meghan markle is now signed up to. she will be meeting the public across the uk and the commonwealth, she has become a key member of team windsor, in the same year as another key member has finally announced his retirement. for seven decades, this is an image to which the public has become accustomed. the queen accompanied by britain's longest—serving consort,

prince philip, together with him a couple of steps behind. this was a significant day as the announcement had just been made that he was to retire from public duties. he was in customary good humour, chatting to the members of the order of merit, swapping stories about hearing aids... we have all got them! and joking about retirement. "standing down, i can't stand up much longer," he replied. the duke's decision was not health—related but, at 96, he felt he had done his bit. as he had remarked the previous day... you are seeing the world's most experienced plaque unveiler. laughter. it was a surprise but not

really a surprise. although having for many years heard it is a job from which you cannot retire. he has just proved that actually it might be possible to retire, which is quite good for the rest of us. wherever he's been, wherever in the world, people will continue to remember him and will continue to remember him, and you can't really get a better accolade than that. over the years, the duke has completed more than 22,000 solo engagements. encouraged millions of young people in more than 60 countries to challenge themselves through the duke of edinburgh's award. where did you do your expedition? i did it in the north... did you get lost? a bit. archive: and he had time to discuss with indian officials the problems of conserving... and been an early advocate of environmental issues through his presidency of the world wildlife fund. but it'll be his unwavering support for the queen in this, the year of their platinum wedding anniversary, which will be seen as his greatest achievement.

they were married in 1947. in the gloom of post—war britain, their wedding was described by sir winston churchill as a flash of colour. she, the future queen, and he the dashing naval officer. in the years since he has travelled the world with her and been her companion both in public and private. injune it was illness rather than retirement which prevented the duke from being at the queen's side at the state opening of parliament. prince charles took his place. but going forward, this will become the norm and, although the palace has been keen to emphasise that for the queen it is still business as usual, the gradual transition of roles and responsibilities from one generation to the next has noticeably accelerated this year. last post sounds. most significantly in november.

for the first time in her 65—year reign, the queen was present at the service of remembrance at the cenotaph, in london, but she did not lay a wreath. instead, she watched from the foreign office balcony, alongside her husband, as her son and heir laid a wreath on her behalf. the duke will continue to support the queen at events of his choosing. god save the queen plays. but this was his final official public engagement. fittingly for a former royal navy officer, it was a parade for the royal marines in front of the palace which has been his london home for so many decades. royal marines: hip hip hooray! hip hip hooray! the band's rousing sendoff could not have been more appropriate. band plays for he's a jolly good fellow. the uk's exit from the

european union edges ever closer and new relationships need to be formed in europe and beyond, and, as this year has shown, the royal family is uniquely placed to carry out soft diplomacy, spreading a little stardust while reinforcing those old bonds of friendship. applause. in the united kingdom, irish people make such an extraordinary and essential contribution to so many parts of our society and our economy. polish is now the second most spoken language in the uk, with a generation of young people

growing up who feel both british and polish. polish is now the second most spoken language in the uk, with a generation of young people growing up who feel both british and polish. applause. september, and some high—profile bilateral meetings for prince harry in canada. but this trip was not at the behest of the foreign office. he was there to help make his brainchild, the invictus games, the biggest and best yet. for eight days, more than 500 athletes from 17

countries took part. all of them had been damaged either physically or mentally in the course of serving their countries. the invictus games were harry's idea to help them on their road to recovery. right now, you are on a high, at the summit of a mountain many of you thought was too high to climb. you have done it, this is the moment, right here, right now, shoulder to shoulder, you are invictus! applause. the sydney games will take place in october in what is shaping up to be a busy 2018 for prince harry. tonight on panorama... the offshore secrets of the rich and powerful out in the open. in a year in which royal headlines were overwhelmingly positive, early november was an exception. the queen and prince charles were drawn into a global

media story looking into offshore investment funds. a leak of millions of documents revealed that the duchy of lancaster, the queen's private estate, had invested £10 million in funds based in bermuda and the cayman islands. not illegal but questions were asked as to whether this should be held the monarch‘s cash is invested. as prince charles toured the far east, the same questions were being asked of his private estate, the duchy of cornwall, as well as investing offshore, the prince was also accused of a conflict of interest in relation to a particular investment. clarence house was robust in their denial of any wrongdoing. the fact that both the queen and the prince of wales voluntarily pay tax on income from their private estates did not stop calls for greater transparency in the royal finances in the wake of these revelations. in times of tragedy, it is the role of the monarch to help console and unite the nation

and sadly, this year, the queen and other members of the royal family have been called upon to perform this duty all too often. starting here in westminster in march, when five people were killed.