Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have shared how their first meeting actually came about in their explosive Netflix docuseries - and it's a pretty modern fairytale. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have opened their lives to the cameras with filming for the controversial show starting in 2020 after they stepped back as senior royals.
In September 2020, it was revealed that Meghan and Harry would be making a number of films and series, including documentaries and children's shows, giving them a global reach into millions of homes, as part of a deal the couple signed with Netflix in the months after their bombshell royal family announcement.
And after lots of talk and the release of two, two-minute trailers in recent weeks, the streaming giant released the first volume of the series, entitled Harry & Meghan, on Thursday, December 8, at 8am. It comes three months after Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II died.
READ MORE: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle send instant message with opening of Netflix docuseries
The opening scenes of episode one of three show an airport with a close-up of a departures sign while piano music plays over the footage. It then cuts to Harry and words on the screen tell viewers he is in the Windsor Suite at Heathrow Airport in March 2020. He appears to be filming himself speaking into his phone camera.
“Hi. So we’re here on Wednesday the something of March," he said. "We’ve just finished our two weeks, our like final push, our last stint of royal engagements. It’s really hard to look back on it now and go ‘what on earth happened’? Like, how did we end up here?” As Harry speaks, images of the couple flash on screen, followed by newspaper headlines and broadcasters’ audio from coverage about their decision to step back from royal life.
And it wasn't too long before they were divulging previously unheard details about how they met and their first date. They previously told how they were introduced by each other's acquaintance on a blind date in early July, 2016. "We were introduced actually by a mutual friend," Harry revealed during the couple's first interview with the BBC following their engagement announcement in November 2017.
But Meghan, 41, has now shared she was having a 'single girl summer' and was planning trip around Europe before she met Harry. “Talk about plot twist," she jokes. They then share how they actually met via Instagram. "I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them," Harry explained.
Meghan slightly cringes as her now-husband mentions 'Snapchat' before the video in question appears showing the Duchess and former Suits actress using the famous dog-ear Snapchat filter. "That's what he saw of me," Meghan said. "That was the first thing," Harry echoed before the 38-year-old admitted: "I was like, 'Who is that?'"
Meghan then said: "That's ridiculous," before it was revealed that the pair swapped numbers and were 'constanty in touch'. Meghan then went to Wimbledon in 2016, where she sat diagonally across from the royal box. And friend Silver Tree said that she thought it was ‘funny’ when she told her she was going on a date with Prince Harry the very next day.
The pair then met at Soho House7 6 Dean Street and Harry was late. "I was panicking, freaking out, sweating," he said while Meghan confessed that she thought he was one of these egotistical men who any girl would wait half an hour for - something she wasn't impressed by.
But he arrived and was, apparently, very sweet and apologetic for being late. They left after an hour, and she called him that evening and asked him out to dinner the next night. She was then a 'mere few minutes' late after coming back from Wimbledon. However, the rest, as they say, is history.
Harry also revealed he had an extensive list of what he was looking for in a relationship - but refused to disclose any of the details of the list. But fans have already been reacting to the Snapchat revelation. @JenniferKleinHi said: "You mean to tell me that Harry wanted to meet Meghan cuz he saw her with a dog filter on Snapchat??? This is already my favorite documentary series ever. Absolute legendary mid 2010s s**t right there #HarryandMeghanNetflix."
@lecreusetluvr tweeted: "I can't believe prince harry saw a pic of meghan with a snapchat doggy ear filter on and went 'hell yea'. 2016 was a strange time." @FarahAndrews posted: "Highlight so far is that Harry, essentially slid into Meghan's dms when he saw a video of her with the #Snapchat dog filter on a friend's Instagram."
@Sarah_EmilyP shared: "Okay the fact Meghan and Harry first met over INSTAGRAM like Love Islanders?! Obsessed #MeghanandHarryNetflix." @KimMetalGuitars added: "So Prince Harry had a secret Instagram account and saw a friend post a picture of Meghan on her feed and asked his friend to met her. How adorable. #HarryandMeghanonNetflix."
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