Meghan Markle is certainly one busy woman.
Not only is she a humanitarian traveling the world to raise awareness to water aid and women's education, but a former lifestyle blog founder, a writer – who has penned emotional essays for ELLE UK discussing her biracial identity and the responsibility of fame – and the current fiancée of Prince Harry.
However, as a result of her upcoming wedding, the Toronto-based actress has had to hand up her acting crown, playing paralegal Rachel Zane on the USA Network show Suits, for good.
During their first joint interview as a newly-engaged couple, Prince Harry and Meghan acknowledged she was moving on from the series.
'I don't see it as giving anything up. I just see it as a change,' she explained. 'It's a new chapter, right? And also, keep in mind, I've been working on [Suits] for seven years. We were very, very fortunate to have that sort of longevity on a series…I've ticked this box, and I feel very proud of the work I've done there, and now it's time to work with [Harry] as a team.'
Following the news of her engagement to the prince, USA Network confirmed the 36-year-old's departure from the hit legal drama and congratulated her the upcoming royal nuptials.
'From all of us at USA Network and Universal Cable Productions, we want to send our most heartfelt congratulations to Meghan Markle and Prince Harry on their engagement,' the statement read.
'Meghan has been a member of our family for seven years and it has been a joy to work with her. We want to thank her for her undeniable passion and dedication to Suits, and we wish her the very best.'
The news came a fortnight after Deadline reported that both Markle and her co-star Patrick J. Adams were looking to depart the show at the end of Season 7, which is expected to broadcast its final six episodes in early 2018.
Markle's on-screen double, Nicky Bursic, also suggested the star's departure from the series was imminent when she posted a snap of her standing beside the bride-to-be along with a heartfelt 'goodbye' message.
Last year, the Daily Star reported Markle had asked the show's executives and producers to have her character – who she's played since July 2011 – written out of the show so she could focus on her relationship in London with Prince Harry.
The news comes almost a year after Suits creator Aaron Korsh revealed the possibility of a major cast member leaving the show was 'certainly not' happening, during an interview with TV Line.
Following news of Markle's upcoming wedding, however, Korsh expressed his warmest wishes to the newly-engaged couple on Twitter.
In an interview with Radio 4's Today, Korsh shed some light on how his team of writers were managing Markle's increased media exposure, as a result of her relationship with Harry, and how he expected her to leave the show.
'I sort of had a decision to make because I didn't want to intrude and ask her, "Hey, what's going on? What are you going to do?" So . . . collectively the writers, we decided to take a gamble that these two people are in love and it's going to work out,' he explained.
'What we decided to do was as the season progresses say, "Look, I would rather have good things happen to Meghan in her life' — which would likely mean her leaving the show," Korsh added.
'So let's plan on that and it's much easier to undo that, if it came to it, than to just plan on her staying forever and then finding out she's going to go. And the only way to write a character out like that would be if they got hit by a bus or something.'
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle will get married at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle on 19 May.
Katie O'Malley is the Site Director on ELLE UK. On a daily basis you’ll find Katie managing all digital workflow, editing site, video and newsletter content, liaising with commercial and sales teams on new partnerships and deals (eg Nike, Tiffany & Co., Cartier etc), implementing new digital strategies and compiling in-depth data traffic, SEO and ecomm reports. In addition to appearing on the radio and on TV, as well as interviewing everyone from Oprah Winfrey to Rishi Sunak PM, Katie enjoys writing about lifestyle, culture, wellness, fitness, fashion, and more.
