Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's first date sounds like something straight out of a romcom. Despite a rocky start when Harry was late due to traffic, from the moment they ordered their drinks and got chatting they both knew it was something special.
They'd been messaging constantly after following each other on Instagram, so already knew a lot about each other, but they both admit the chemistry was off the scale.
The American actress was in the UK to watch the tennis at Wimbledon, and they only had a short window to fix a meet up.
Once they'd picked a date, it came to working out where they were going to meet. Aware of the security pressures around him and the frenzy that would follow if they were spotted out together, Harry suggested Meghan came over to his Kensington Palace home.
But his invitation didn't go down well and he got a blunt four-word reply from his future bride.
In his memoir Spare, Harry reveals that Meghan questioned if he was expecting to go to his house on a first date, before messaging: "I don't think so".
Oops.
Harry realised his error straight away, quickly replying: "No, I didn't mean it like that". He tried to explain the dangers of a public meeting, but admits he didn't do it very well.
So Meghan took charge of the organisation and booked them a table at Soho House, a members bar she knew well which is known for its privacy.
The couple shared details of their first date in their Netflix show Harry & Meghan, which only lasted an hour due to Harry's lateness.
But she called him later that night to explain the swift exit was just because she had other plans and not because she didn't enjoy it.
She tells the programme: “I called him that evening and I was like ‘I’m leaving the day after tomorrow, do you want to grab dinner tomorrow night?’
“And I’m sure he thought it was so forward and American. I’m sure he told me it was so forward and American.”
They arranged a second date for the following night, returning to Soho House for dinner.
It was during this meeting that they decided to make a go of their romance, taking a photo to mark the occasion.
Meghan said: “There was one photo. We just wanted to capture the feeling of just sitting in that little restaurant and going ‘Oh my gosh. We were going to give it a go’.”
Harry said: “That was when it just hit me. I was like, OK, this girl, this woman, is amazing, is everything that I’ve been looking for.
“And she’s so comfortable and so relaxed in my company.”
Meghan said: “He had a list apparently of what he was looking for.”
She said it was an “extensive” list, and Harry said: “Let’s not go there.”
- Spare is out now, available in book shops and online.
