Prince Harry and Meghan Markle pose for stunning engagement portraits

Britain's Prince Harry and fiancee Meghan Markle have posed for a series of stunning new portraits to mark their recent engagement.

The prince and his wife-to-be cuddle up in the pictures, which were taken by fashion photographer Alexi Lubomirski at Frogmore House in Windsor, England, earlier this week (beg18Dec17).

The first shows Meghan wearing a Ralph & Russo dress with a daringly sheer top as she sits on the steps on the venue alongside her royal beau, who looks smart in a navy blue suit. The former Suits star wears her raven hair down and loose, and goes for a bronzed look with her make-up, along with smoky eyes.

In the second, more intimate black and white shot, Harry and Meghan are seen smiling as they cuddle, with the prince appearing to wrap his jacket around his fiancee. With her eyes closed and a beaming grin on her face, Meghan places her left hand - with her stunning engagement ring center of attention - on Harry's cheek as he looks down at her with pure love in his eyes.

A third shows the pair, who announced their engagement last month, smiling as they walk along Frogmore House’s grounds.

“It was an incredible honor to be asked to document this wonderful event, but also a great privilege to be invited to share and be a witness to this young couple’s love for one another,” Lubomirski said in a statement from Kensington Palace. “I cannot help but smile when I look at the photos that we took of them, such was their happiness together."

The release of the pictures comes after Meghan spent the day with Harry and members of the royal family at Queen Elizabeth II’s annual Christmas lunch at Buckingham Palace on Wednesday. According to reports, Meghan charmed her soon-to-be relatives by pulling a cracker with Harry's father Prince Charles and reading out a corny festive joke at the dinner table.

The 36-year-old actress will also be spending Christmas at Sandringham with the Queen and other senior members of the royal family in an unprecedented move recently confirmed by Kensington Palace.