Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend wheelchair tennis on day 3 of the Invictus Games Toronto 2017 on September 25, 2017 in Toronto, Canada. Rince Harry, Britain’s most eligible bachelor, is no longer quite so eligible following the announcement of his engagement to California-born actress and United Nations advocate Meghan Markle.
However, it seems the two may have been set up by a different, unnamed mutual pal. TheDaily Mail reported that the duchess’ close friend, Soho House higher-up Markus Anderson, introduced the couple. Anderson reportedly ran in the same Toronto circles as Meghan — who filmed Suitsin Canada — for years.
The royal couple traded British palaces for California beaches
In the couple’s engagement interview with BBC, Markle confirmed that it was indeed a truly 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. When a beautiful human who happens to be an actor starts dating another beautiful human who happens to be an heir to a paper towel fortune or, you know, a prince, I always assume that they met at some fancy people party on St. Barth’s. So naturally, I assumed that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met years ago in a meet-cute not unlike the Lifetime movies Markle sometimes acts in.
The couple talked about everything from parenthood to life after leaving the royal family and the pressure they faced prior to doing so. In the same month the couple sent out their family Christmas card — which was not shared publicly — they also won one of their first legal battles over paparazzi pics of their son, Archie. Archie accompanied the royal couple on the trip, which took them to Auwal Mosque, the oldest mosque in South Africa, and other famous sites. At the time, Archie was only 6 months old, which made him one of the youngest royals to ever go on a royal tour, according to The Times.
Meghan Markle issues statement on Spotify podcast amid Prince Harry’s surprise UK trip
About 25 close family and friends, including King Charles, Queen Consort Camilla, Ragland and Kate Middleton, were in attendance. A source told PEOPLE that the Sussexes “wanted an intimate, peaceful setting in a place with such a special connection to Her Majesty.” “Their Royal Highnesses The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are very pleased to announce that The Duchess of Sussex is expecting a baby in the Spring of 2019,” Kensington Palace said in a statement at the time. “Their Royal Highnesses have appreciated all of the support they have received from people around the world since their wedding in May and are delighted to be able to share this happy news with the public.” About two months before her royal wedding to Prince Harry, Meghan was baptized into the Church of England in a secret ceremony by the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Royal Chapel at St. James’s Palace in London.
In the limited series, Meghan said she wanted to invite Ashleigh to her royal wedding in 2018 but was told by the palace that she could not. Samantha also took issue with the contents of a chapter titled “A Problem Like Samantha” in the book Finding Freedom, which focused on Harry and Meghan’s love story and step back from their roles as senior working royals. “While disappointed that his son didn’t wait for him to come back, Charles also understood that the situation with Meghan had reached a tipping point. Harry had felt the need to prioritise the woman he loved over duty to the greater royal family,” the excerpt concluded. “The Palace decided to go ahead with the statement nonetheless, much of which was drafted by Harry himself. Charles learnt of it just 20 minutes before it went out. Sure enough, as soon as Harry put out his declaration, the statement dominated the news cycle.” “When he first started seeing her, Harry, sensitive to even the slightest hint of prejudice, had fallouts within his own circle. When some questioned his new relationship, and whether she was suitable, he would wonder, ‘Is this about race? Is it snobbery?'” the book states. “When Harry opened the door, the prince towered in the small hallway with lots of coats hung on hooks and his boots by the door, just like any regular home,” the excerpt states.
The couple met through mutual friends in London in July 2016 when one of Ms Markle’s close friends, Markus Anderson, reportedly introduced her to the prince. It was later revealed that the newlyweds were indeed hiding signs of Meghan’s pregnancy and shared the good news with the queen and the rest of the family at Princess Eugenie’s wedding. On January 8, 2020 the couple revealed via Instagram that they will be stepping down as senior members of the Royal Family and will work to become “financially independent.” They also shared that they will be splitting their time between the United Kingdom and North America.
So while it hasn’t been an easy road in the media and in public for the couple since they tied the knot, they do have two beloved children, Archie and Lilibet to show for it. That said, William and Kate had known one another for nearly a decade by the time their wedding rolled around (the pair met while studying at St. Andrews University), while Meghan and Harry met less than two years ago, in July 2016. But it appears that the Prince of Wales and the former actress fell in love at first sight.
Though Prince Harry seemed to fall for Meghan Markle quickly, that doesn’t mean he was immediately ready to settle down and ditch his playboy reputation for her. TheDaily Mail reported that the prince allegedly dated a British model while he was wooing Markle https://datingupdates.org/goodnight-review/ in the early days of their courtship. Friends of model Sarah Ann Macklin claimed that the Duke of Sussex bombarded her with texts after meeting her at a party, and he allegedly continued to contact her for months when Markle wasn’t visiting London.
According to reports, the couple visited the queen, who recovered from COVID-19 one month earlier. It was announced that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex would be taking on their first joint royal tour together in the fall. They were scheduled to travel to Australia, Fiji, the Kingdom of Tonga and New Zealand. “The Duke and Duchess are looking forward to learning more about Ireland’s history and experience its rich culture, as well as meeting the people who are shaping the country’s future,” Kensington Palace said in a statement. The pair made their first official joint appearance at the 2017 Invictus Games in Toronto.