Sweethearts Of Sussex Harry & Meghan's Love Story

When Hollywood Glamour Met Old-world Royalty

LOVE AT FIRST DATE

From the very beginning, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were utterly smitten with each other. The pair were famously set up on a blind date by Harry’s childhood pal Violet von Westenholz in July 2016.

“We met for a drink,” Meghan later revealed. “Then I think very quickly into that, we said, ‘Well, what are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again.’” By their third date, Harry was whisking Meghan off to Africa, where they shared a tent under the stars. “I managed to persuade her to come join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other,” Harry recalled. “Then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me, to make sure that we had a chance to get to know each other.”

GOING PUBLIC

The romance slowly began to make its way into the public’s consciousness. By November 2016, Harry had issued an extraordinary statement confirming that Meghan was his girlfriend, but also warning against media intrusion into her life and her family’s lives.

That same month, Meghan met members of Harry’s family for the first time, including Prince Charles.