TIMELINE - Harry and Meghan: The rebel royals

Harry, King Charles's son, and Meghan stepped down from royal roles two years ago, hailed by some for standing up for their beliefs and forging their own career path but derided by others for using their status to make money while sniping at the royal family.

Here is a timeline of the couple's relationship with the royals, the media and the courts.

July: Harry, now fifth-in-line to the British throne, and Meghan, an actress from Los Angeles best known for her role in TV legal drama "Suits", go on a blind date after being introduced by a friend. Weeks later, the prince takes Meghan, whose father is white and mother African-American, on a romantic holiday to Botswana.

November: Harry criticises the media for intruding into his girlfriend's private life, accusing some newspapers of abuse and harassment, some of which he describes as racist.

November: Harry's father, then the Prince of Wales, confirms the couple are engaged.

May: The couple marry in the medieval chapel of Windsor Castle and become the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Days before the wedding, Meghan's father Thomas Markle said he would not attend.

October: Harry and Meghan announce she is expecting their first child while in Australia on their first overseas tour.

2019:

March: Buckingham Palace announces Harry and Meghan will set up their own household, breaking from the operation they shared with his elder brother Prince William and his wife Kate. There are media reports of rifts between the two couples.

May: Meghan gives birth to a boy, Archie. The couple invite a small group of media to a photocall, prompting grumbling from parts of the press that had been increasingly critical of the couple.

October: Meghan says she is suing the Mail on Sunday newspaper for printing parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father after the wedding. Harry announces he is suing other papers over allegations of phone-hacking.

In a TV documentary, Harry discloses a rift with his brother William. He accuses the media of bullying, comparing it to their treatment of his mother, Princess Diana, before her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.

Meghan says life had been hard as a new mother dealing with intense scrutiny.

2020

January: The couple announce their intention to step back from senior royal roles and become financially independent. They agree to give up their "Royal Highness" titles and in March they move to California.

September: Streaming service Netflix, which makes the hit drama "The Crown" based on the life of the late Queen Elizabeth, announces the couple have signed a multi-year deal to produce content.

February: Harry, who served in the armed forces for a decade, wins an apology and damages from the Mail on Sunday over an article claiming he had turned his back on the military.

A London High Court judge rules the same paper breached Meghan's privacy by publishing extracts of her letter.

Buckingham Palace says the couple's split as working members of the royal family is permanent and they will lose their royal patronages.

March: Buckingham Palace says it is "very concerned" about a report in the Times newspaper detailing allegations of bullying made by former staff of Harry and Meghan and will launch an investigation.

The couple give an interview to U.S. chat show host Oprah Winfrey in which Meghan accuses one royal of raising concerns about how dark their son Archie's skin might be, and says she was pushed to the brink of suicide.

Harry says he had been let down by his father, and that he had been "trapped" in the institution.

Queen Elizabeth responds by promising to address the racism issues while remarking "some recollections may vary". William says: "We're very much not a racist family."

April: Harry returns to Britain for the funeral of his grandfather Prince Philip, Elizabeth's husband. Pregnant Meghan was advised not to travel.

May: Harry tells Winfrey in another interview how he had turned to drink and drugs to numb the grief he felt over the death of his mother, killed when her car crashed as it fled press photographers. He says the fear the same might happen to Meghan was one of the main reasons they quit royal duties.

June: Meghan gives birth to their second child, Lilibet Diana, named after Queen Elizabeth and Harry's late mother.

January: Harry begins legal action to challenge a government decision that denied him police protection when in Britain. He later starts a libel claim against the Mail on Sunday over an article saying he had tried to keep the legal action secret.

June: Buckingham Palace says lessons have been learned after a review into the bullying allegations made by royal staff against Meghan, but declines to give details.

Harry and Meghan return to Britain for celebrations to mark Elizabeth's 70 years on the throne. They are greeted with cheers and some jeers.

September: Harry and Meghan are in Britain when Queen Elizabeth dies. They join William and Kate for a walkabout to meet mourners.

October: Harry joins singer Elton John and others in suing the publisher of the Daily Mail newspaper, alleging phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy.