Ever since the world learned that Prince Harry and former actress Meghan Markle were a thing, the couple have been under the spotlight. Starting from their glamorous wedding which was broadcast and seen by more than 29.19 million viewers, to the birth of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019, to stepping down from their royal duties, the Sussex Royals’ every move has been closely followed by the media. That same media which “forced” them to leave the U.K. and move to the States.
The two were introduced to each other by a mutual friend after Harry spotted her in a video shared by one of his friends and couldn’t help but ask who she was, according to the couple’s Netflix documentary.
The two made plans to meet while Meghan visited London for the Wimbledon tennis tournament. As agreed, Meghan was waiting for Harry at the Soho House in London but he was 30 minutes late.
“I couldn’t understand why he would be late,” Meghan said in the series. “But he kept texting. He was like, ‘I’m in traffic. I’m so sorry.’”
“I was panicking, I was freaking out,” Harry added. “I was, like, sweatin’.”
Meghan explained that because she didn’t know Harry, she wondered if he was usually late.
“I was like, ‘Oh, is this what he does?’ Got it. Like this, I’m not doing. I’m not gonna sit…..”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry interfered.
“Like you’re one of those guys who have so much of an ego that any girl would sit waiting for a half hour for you,” Meghan continued. “I was just not interested in that.”
Once Harry walked into the restaurant, though, Meghan quickly realized him being late wasn’t part of any tactic or plan.
“I was a hot, sweaty, red ball of mess,” Harry recalled.
“You were just so sweet,” Meghan added. “You were genuinely so embarrassed and late.”
Following their first date, Harry thought to himself: “This woman is amazing. She is everything that I’ve been looking for.”
However, soon after they tied the knot, Harry and Meghan started experiencing issues with the rest of the royals, some which were revealed during the infamous Oprah interview.
Even before they announced they were a couple, some members of the Firm weren’t delighted, rumors are. Then-prince Charles, who learned that his son was dating Meghan Markle around 20 minutes before they went public, was reported to have been ‘crushed’ by the news. This was because Charles feared the announcement could overshadow his forthcoming royal duties.
“It was a critical moment that had been in the works for months,” Scobie and Durand wrote in the book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of the Modern Royal Family.
“A statement from Kensington Palace condemning the Press and, in the same breath, confirming Harry’s new girlfriend would all but eliminate coverage of Prince Charles’s tour of the Gulf.”
The royal authors added: “The team at Clarence House, which had spent months putting together Prince Charles’ tour in the hopes that it would be covered significantly, was crushed.”
It wasn’t because of Harry’s choice but because of the bad timing.
Over time, the relationship between the Sussexes and the rest of the royals became a rocky one and remains such until today. +
