There is a saying that people make time for who they want to make time for.
When Prince Harry met Meghan Markle in the summer of 2016, they both had jam-packed schedules.
Harry had a busy calendar of royal engagements and Meghan was starring in season six of Suits.
In their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the couple described the early days of their long-distance relationship.
In July 2016 the Meghan was in London to promote the new season of the US show and was sent on a ‘blind’ date with the Prince.
The two were keen to keep things under wraps, so their date took place at a private room at the exclusive Soho House – where Meghan’s friend Markus Anderson was brand ambassador.
Harry had just returned from France to commemorate the Battle of the Somme and was, understandably, in sombre spirits.
According to the Sussexes’ Netflix docuseries, Harry was late to their date at 76 Dean Street.
Prince Harry and Meghan smile while announcing their engagement in 2017
In their docuseries, Harry & Meghan, the couple described the early days of their long-distance relationship
The Netflix show revealed Harry was late to their first date at Soho House in London
The couple had two dates before Meghan had to fly back to Toronto on July 5, with Meghan boldly initiating the second date.
She said: ‘I called him that evening and said “Look I’m leaving the day after tomorrow, do you want to grab dinner tomorrow night?”
‘I’m sure he thought it was so forward and American.’
And for their third date, Harry took Meghan away on a romantic trip to Botswana.
‘It was three, maybe four, weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come join me in Botswana, and we camped out with each other under the stars,’ Harry explained during their engagement interview.
‘She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic.
‘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.’
Harry later said it was during this trip that he knew Meghan was his ‘soulmate’.
For their third date, Harry took Meghan away on a romantic trip to Botswana
Harry later said it was during the Botswana trip that he knew Meghan was his ‘soulmate’
After this trip, Meghan gave Harry a strict rule which he would have to follow in order for the relationship to be viable.
In the first episode of Harry & Meghan, the Prince explained: ‘She had a two-week rule, which was very smart, that said we had to see each other in, or around two weeks.’
He recalled asking Meghan: ‘How is that even possible with the stuff that I’m doing? I’m not going to be able to travel to see you that much.’
The Duchess said: ‘It was much easier for me to go and see him in the UK. I could still just get on a commercial flight and go and see him under the radar.
Harry added: ‘Those first few months when no one knew, it made much more sense for her to come to me so then she could come and stay with me on Kensington Palace grounds.’
The two would go for walks around Frogmore – away from the public eye.
Harry said at the time: ‘I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly – it was a confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned.’
In the first episode of their Netflix series, Harry & Meghan, Harry explained: ‘She had a two-week rule, which was very smart, that said we had to see each other in, or around two weeks’
The Duchess said: ‘It was much easier for me to go and see him in the UK. I could still just get on a commercial flight and go and see him under the radar’
Harry said at the time: ‘I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly – it was a confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned’
Harry had been looking for someone special, but up until the moment he bumped into Meghan, dating had been a bit of a disaster for him.
Despite his status as the most eligible bachelor in the country, the Prince’s love life included a series of failed relationships with an array of heiresses, airheads and aristocrats.
Following the repeated failures, one expert claimed he started to feel like the ‘royal Bridget Jones’.
He was so exhausted by the constant dating that by 2016, at the age of 31, he finally felt ready to settle down and find a wife.
The thirst for finding the one was so great that he candidly told TV presenter Denise van Outen at a birthday party in January 2016: ‘I’m not dating and for the first time ever I want to find a wife.’
Four months later, he brought up the subject of love and marriage again during an interview with The Sunday Times.
He told the paper: ‘At the moment my focus is very much on work but if someone slips into my life then that’s absolutely fantastic.’
Meghan and Harry’s relationship became public in September 2017 and by November the two were engaged.
Early in their relationship, Meghan would fly to the UK and the two would go for walks around Frogmore – away from the public eye
Meghan and Harry’s relationship became public in September 2017 and by November, the two were engaged
The couple wave to well-wishers following their wedding ceremony in St George’s Chapel in 2018
But their whirlwind romance wasn’t all smooth sailing.
After a short period as working royals following their wedding in May 2018, the couple announced that they would be stepping back as senior royals in January 2020.
It sent shockwaves around the world, and the coining of the term ‘Megxit’ quickly followed – which became one of Collins Dictionary’s Words Of The Year in 2020.
They went on to declare their plans to divide their time between the UK and North America, and to ‘focus on the next chapter’.
But it turned out to be a bitter end to the fairy tale romance Britain had enjoyed with Meghan – and the beginning of the end of Harry’s relationship with his brother Prince William.
In February 2021, after a year’s review period, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the couple would not be returning to their royal roles.
Then came the Oprah Winfrey documentary.
Writing in his book, Charles III: The Inside Story, Mail columnist Robert Hardman described the interview as ‘the most astonishing unburdening of family secrets since the late Princess of Wales sat down with the BBC’s Martin Bashir in 1995’.
Writing in his book, Charles III: The Inside Story, Mail columnist Robert Hardman described the Oprah interview as ‘the most astonishing unburdening of family secrets since the late Princess of Wales sat down with the BBC’s Martin Bashir in 1995’
The pair made allegations that rocked the monarchy during the 85-minute conversation with Oprah Winfrey
Since the revelatory interview, the Sussexes have been accused by the likes of Piers Morgan of lying, with the couple themselves taking back some of their statements
The pair made allegations that rocked the monarchy during the 85-minute conversation.
They claimed comments had been made about how dark the skin of their son, Prince Archie, might be when he was born, while Meghan accused Kate of making her cry over bridesmaid dresses just days before her wedding.
Queen Elizabeth then issued a statement saying the issues raised in the interview would be dealt with privately as a family, adding that ‘recollections may vary’.
Since the revelatory interview, the Sussexes have been accused by the likes of Piers Morgan of lying, with the couple themselves taking back some of their statements.
Harry most recently made headlines for his explosive BBC documentary following his lost appeal regarding security protection in the UK
Despite Meghan once being able to travel on a commercial flight, Harry now says his loss of security protection since stepping down as working royals makes it ‘impossible’ to bring Meghan and his children to the UK.
He also recently made headlines for his no-holds-barred BBC interview, which aired hours after losing his appeal for automatic, full security protection when visiting from the US.
He said he ‘can’t see a world in which I would be bringing my wife and children back to the UK at this point’.
