Prince Harry rushed into marriage with Meghan Markle over security concerns: source

Prince Harry was in a hurry to marry Meghan Markle because he was said to have been worried about her security during their relationship.

Prince William had not wanted his younger brother to rush into marriage and had wanted him to learn more about his then-girlfriend. Reports had it that the Duke of Sussex took insult to his sibling's advice because he thought that it showed a lack of trust in his judgement of women.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle dated for less than two years before they announced their engagement. They had met through a friend who set them up on a date in 2016. The Duke of Cambridge, on the other hand, dated Kate Middleton for about seven years before they got engaged and eventually married. Suffice to say, he took the time to get to know her first before making the serious decision of settling down.

But the Duke of Sussex did not want to wait that long and married the former "Suits" actress in May 2018. It is said that he rushed into marriage because he was concerned for the duchess' safety while in the U.K.

In her book "The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, the Truth and the Turmoil," royal author Tina Brown cited a friend of Prince William who said the royal only wanted what was best for his brother. The pal said that the duke had wanted Meghan Markle to have "more time to build up a life in the U.K. and make friends who didn't always have to [be] brought in confidence to the Palace."

However, Prince Harry reportedly disagreed with the suggestion. Brown wrote as quoted by OK magazine, "To his brother's concerns, Harry riposte can be summarized as, I am told, 'Well, actually the best way that I can protect her is to marry her as quickly as possible, because as soon as I marry her she will then get police protection.'"

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle did get police protection as part of their royal privileges. But they lost that, among many patronages, when they stepped down from their royal duties in January 2020.