Harry, Meghan and the woman who was their cupid

Sources have revealed that Violet von Westenholz, 33, is the secret matchmaker who first set up Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Photo / Facebook

There has been much speculation over who exactly is the mystery friend who played matchmaker to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, but now the royal cupid's identity appears to have been revealed once and for all.

E! News reported on Wednesday that a source close to the engaged couple has confirmed it was fashion PR Violet von Westenholz who first set Harry and Meghan up on a blind date back in July 2016.

Violet, 33, is the daughter of former Olympic skier Baron Piers von Westenholz, who is a close personal friend of Harry's father, the Prince of Wales. She was also a childhood friend of Harry's and worked with Meghan before setting the pair up.

Violet had known Harry for years, but met Meghan more recently while working as a press relations director for Ralph Lauren.

During that time, she worked alongside Miss Markle on June 30, days before her blind date with Prince Harry in July 2016.

When Harry and Meghan announced their engagement, they played coy about Violet's identity.

"We were introduced by a secret friend, who we will protect her privacy," Harry said in their first joint interview.

"It was definitely a set-up," Meghan added. "It was a blind date.

"I didn't know much about him and so the only thing I had asked her when she said she wanted to set us up was, I had one question, I said 'Is he nice?'"

Harry chimed in: "I'd never, never even heard about her until this friend said "Meghan Markle".

"I was like, 'Right okay, give me, give me a bit of background, like what's going on here?' When I walked into that room and saw her and there she was sitting there, I was like 'Okay, well I'm going to have to really up my game here.'"

According to a source that spoke to E! News, Violet had heard about Harry's desire to meet someone and his trouble finding The One.

"Harry was having a really hard time finding anyone. It's hard enough finding someone new to date. He can hardly go on Tinder or a dating app like normal people, but to meet someone that you actually connect with, that was proving to be almost impossible," the source said.

"It was something he had confided in his closest friends about; he was ready to meet someone but it was so hard to actually find the right person.

"Meghan had been a part of the London social scene for a while and had slotted into the high society set really easily. And so when Harry told Violet he was having trouble finding someone, Violet said she might just have the perfect girl for him."

Miss von Westenholz, who was once linked romantically with singer James Blunt, refused to deny whether or not she was the mystery cupid.

She told the Daily Telegraph: 'I might leave that for other people to say [who it is].

"It's a great story and I am sure they are going to be very happy together. I am just happy they are really happy. They are great together."

The 33-year-old even posed for a selfie in a photograph uploaded to Instagram by Meghan following a publicity day at Wimbledon on June 4.

It is now believed that Miss Markle and Prince Harry enjoyed their first date on some date between July 1 and July 5. judging by the pair's dairies.

The prince returned to the UK from a Battle of the Somme service in Belgium on July 1, while Miss Markle left London and returned to Toronto four days later.

The actress uploaded a revealing post to Instagram on July 3; a love heart sweet with the caption "lovehearts in London".