Prince William says he hopes Prince Harry's engagement means he 'will stop scrounging my food'

— -- Prince William joked today that he is happy Prince Harry is engaged to American actress Meghan Markle for a very brotherly reason.

“For me personally, I hope it means he stays out of my fridge and will stop scrounging my food, which he’s done for the last few years!” said William, 35, who lives with his family near Harry, 33, on the grounds of Kensington Palace.

William said he and his wife, Princess Kate, are also “delighted” for Harry and Markle, 36, whose engagement was announced on Monday.

“We’re very excited, delighted for them both,” said William. “We’re wishing them all the happiness in this very exciting time.”

Harry told the BBC Monday that his cottage’s close proximity to William’s and Kate’s apartment gave them an opportunity to better get to know Markle.

“And then William was longing to meet her and so was Catherine, so you know being our neighbors we managed to get that in a couple of - well quite a few times now,” Harry said of visits between William, Kate and Markle, whom Harry began dating more than one year ago.

William spoke about his brother’s engagement during a visit to an ice hockey rink in Finland, where he is on a two-day tour, marking his first official visit to the country.

Harry, who served as William's best man at his 2011 wedding to Kate, and Markle plan to wed at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle in May.

William wished Harry and Markle "all the happiness" as they begin their new life together.

"It's a fantastic process you go through, the engagement and then the build-up to the wedding and things like that," he said. "So they've got a lot of happy times ahead of them and I think they are both caught up in the moment and I wish them all the happiness and success in planning the wedding. I hope it goes really well."

Harry and Markle will take an active role in planning the wedding themselves, Harry's communication's secretary, Jason Knauf, said Tuesday, and want the day to be “fun” and reflective of their relationship.

"The couple of course want the day to be a special, celebratory moment for their friends and family. They also want the day to be shaped so as to allow members of the public to feel part of the celebrations too and are currently working through ideas for how this might be achieved,” Knauf said. "This wedding, like all weddings, will be a moment of fun and joy that will reflect the characters of the bride and groom."