NEW YORK - Real life will imitate art this spring at the USA series "Suits" when series regular Meghan Markle bids farewell to the legal drama in a wedding - and then goes off to marry her prince in real life.

Show creator and show runner Aaron Korsh has written an on-screen wedding for Markle's paralegal-turned-lawyer Rachel Zane, who will finally exchange vows during the April 25 season seven finale with her longtime love Mike Ross, played by Patrick Adams. The two have been lovebirds for years and had one previous wedding date collapse.

Both actors will then exit the show, which starts filming season eight this month. The wedding will be a sort of dress rehearsal for Markle's real one to Prince Harry at Britain's Windsor Castle on May 19.

One new character who joins in season eight will be Katherine Heigl, a veteran of "Grey's Anatomy" and "State of Affairs." She'll star alongside regulars Rick Hoffman, Gabriel Macht and Sarah Rafferty. Dule Hill will also become a series regular. There's also a "Suits" spinoff planned starring Gina Torres, a former series regular.

Macht, who plays Harvey Specter on the show, has already texted and emailed Heigl to welcome her. "I think she's going to fuel a lot of fire for a lot of the characters in the show and there's going to be a lot of conflict going on," he said. - AP