Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are to marry on Saturday 19 May, Kensington Palace has announced.
The couple had already indicated they planned a May wedding at St George’s Chapel in the grounds of Windsor Castle.
Confirmation of the exact date was made on the Kensington Palace Twitter feed.
The 33-year-old prince and his 36-year-old fiancee announced their engagement on 27 November and a few days later the royal introduced his bride-to-be to the public during a series of official events in Nottingham.
Markle, who is best-known for her part in the US legal drama Suits, will join the Queen and other members of the royal family at Sandringham, the Queen’s private estate in Norfolk, on Christmas Day.
Her Christmas invitation is a break with tradition. She is the first royal fiancee invited to Sandringham before officially becoming a member of the royal family, an invitation not extended to the Duchess of Cambridge until after marriage.
With other members of the royal family she will attend the traditional Christmas Day church service at St Mary Magdalene church. It is thought she and Harry will stay with the Cambridges at their Norfolk retreat, Anmer Hall, over the festive period.
Harry and Ms Markle have gone against tradition by choosing a Saturday. Saturday weddings are a rarity for senior royals; the Queen’s was on a Thursday, the Cambridge’s on a Friday. Harry’s father, Prince Charles, did marry Camilla on a Saturday, but their nuptials were originally planned for a Friday then delayed for one day to allow Charles to represent the Queen at the funeral of Pope John Paul II that day.
The couple's chosen day clashes with another big event - it is also the FA Cup final at Wembley. As President of the Football Association, Harry's older brother the Duke of Cambridge usually attends the high-profile match and presents the trophy. But this year, William, who is tipped to be Harry's best man, looks likely to be otherwise engaged with wedding duties.
The May wedding will also have been picked to give Kate time to recover after the birth of her third child, which is due in April.
Palace aides have already said that the prince and Ms Markle's wedding will "reflect their characters and personalities" and be a moment of "fun and joy".
They will say "I do" in the historic surrounds of the Castle's 15th century St George's Chapel.
Ms Markle, who is to become a British citizen, is being both baptised and confirmed ahead of the religious ceremony.
The Royal family are paying for the wedding, including the church service, the music, the flowers and the reception.
But the security costs for the high-profile event are falling to the taxpayer.
The Queen will be there, as will the rest of the Royal family, along with Ms Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte look set take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid.
Harry proposed to Suits star Ms Markle during a cosy night in over a roast chicken dinner after a 16-month whirlwind romance.
In their engagement interview he told of how "the stars were aligned" when he fell for his future wife, whom he met on a blind date.
What else has happened on May 19
1536: Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, was executed on Tower Green for alleged adultery.
1588: The Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon.
1802: The French Legion d'Honneur was created by Napoleon.
1898: William Ewart Gladstone, four times Liberal prime minister, died at Hawarden Castle in North Wales aged 88.
1900: Britain annexed Tonga, the Friendly Islands.
1906: The 20km Simplon rail tunnel, between Switzerland and Italy, was officially opened.
1935: T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) died six days after a motorcycle accident in Dorset.
1982: Italian actress Sophia Loren was jailed for a month for tax evasion.
1984: Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972, died aged 77.
The May wedding will also have been picked to give Kate time to recover after the birth of her third child, which is due in April.
Palace aides have already said that the prince and Ms Markle's wedding will "reflect their characters and personalities" and be a moment of "fun and joy".
They will say "I do" in the historic surrounds of the Castle's 15th century St George's Chapel.
Ms Markle, who is to become a British citizen, is being both baptised and confirmed ahead of the religious ceremony.
The Royal family are paying for the wedding, including the church service, the music, the flowers and the reception.
But the security costs for the high-profile event are falling to the taxpayer.
The Queen will be there, as will the rest of the Royal family, along with Ms Markle's parents Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland.
Prince George and Princess Charlotte look set take on the roles of pageboy and bridesmaid.
Harry proposed to Suits star Ms Markle during a cosy night in over a roast chicken dinner after a 16-month whirlwind romance.
In their engagement interview he told of how "the stars were aligned" when he fell for his future wife, whom he met on a blind date.
What else has happened on May 19
1536: Anne Boleyn, second wife of Henry VIII and mother of Queen Elizabeth I, was executed on Tower Green for alleged adultery.
1588: The Spanish Armada set sail from Lisbon.
1802: The French Legion d'Honneur was created by Napoleon.
1898: William Ewart Gladstone, four times Liberal prime minister, died at Hawarden Castle in North Wales aged 88.
1900: Britain annexed Tonga, the Friendly Islands.
1906: The 20km Simplon rail tunnel, between Switzerland and Italy, was officially opened.
1935: T. E. Lawrence (Lawrence of Arabia) died six days after a motorcycle accident in Dorset.
1982: Italian actress Sophia Loren was jailed for a month for tax evasion.
1984: Sir John Betjeman, Poet Laureate from 1972, died aged 77.
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