They’re set to exchange vows in one of the most eagerly-anticipated royal weddings in history in just a few hours times, but where did Prince Harry’s love story with Meghan Markle first begin?
The romantic couple will say “I do” in the grounds of Windsor Castle on Saturday, surrounded by the royal family, Meghan’s relatives from the US, close friends and even some members of the public. But while their wedding is playing out in the public eye, their relationship began under a heavy cloak of secrecy.
Here’s a look at where it all began, and just how their love has grown over the past two years.
The couple first met through a mutual friend in July 2016, after being set up on a blind date. Meghan has since said she didn’t know a lot about Harry at the time – while he hadn’t (at that point) watched her on her hit US show Suits.
“I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her,” Harry said, in their first joint TV interview with the BBC’s Mishal Husain. “I was like, I’m really going to have to up my game here.”
While this all happened in private, they clearly fell head over heels instantly as Harry then invited the stunning actress on holiday to Botswana with him just a few weeks later.
“We camped out with each other under the stars,” Harry revealed in the tell-all chat, unable to hide his proud smile as he recalled his earliest memories with Meghan. From there, they managed to date each other in secret for around six months, before the Sunday Express first reported the rumours they were an item in October 2016.
“The romance is in its early stages, but it’s no exaggeration to say he’s besotted with her,” a source told the tabloid at the time. From there, the rumours went into overdrive as people claimed Meghan’s social media photos had hinted at the romance over the last few months.
While the relationship began in blissful happiness, behind closed doors, Prince Harry’s first public confirmation came in November 2016 when he issued an unprecedented statement slamming the media for a “wave of abuse and harassment” towards Meghan, and even accused some news outlets of publishing reports with “racial undertones”.
The lengthy statement added: “He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees. This is not a game – it is her life and his.”
Just a few weeks later, we finally got our first glimpse of the couple together, as they stepped out hand-in-hand in London. While they didn’t pose for photos at the time, The Sun claimed they had enjoyed a date at a West End show.
It was reported by several news outlets that they didn’t spend Christmas together that year, but instead celebrated New Year in London before enjoying a romantic trip to Norway.
There were reports that Meghan met some of Harry’s family – including the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge – in January 2017, before they were next pictured in public together in February, on another date in London.
Just a month later, (proving the huge distance between them wasn’t a factor), the pair reportedly jetted to Jamaica to celebrate Harry’s friend Tom “Skipp” Inskip’s wedding together. People reported at the time that the couple appeared “very much in love”.
By May that year, they were beginning to step out more in public, and were pictured together at a polo match, where they were spotted kissing away from the main field. Meghan also accompanied Harry to Pippa Middleton’s wedding that same month – a solid sign they were serious.
Just over a year after their first holiday together, in August 2017, the pair then jetted back to Africa for a secret and loved-up holiday together, sparking the first rumours they could be planning their engagement.
Shortly after returning from the blissful getaway, Meghan opened up for the first time about the romance, when she was pictured on the cover of Vanity Fair.
“We’re a couple. We’re in love,” she said at the time. “I’m sure there will be a time when we have to come forward and present ourselves, and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It’s part of what makes it so special, that it’s just ours. But we’re happy. Personally, I love a great love story.”
Shortly after that, in September 2017, the pair appeared together at the Invictus Games in Toronto. While they made sure to sit a few rows apart at the opening ceremony, they gave up all pretence the next day as they linked arms and put on a very loved up display at a tennis match.
Meghan’s mum Doria joined them for the closing ceremony, and Harry looked completely at ease as he laughed with the two women from the stands.
Finally ready to share their happy news, Meghan officially quit Suits in November before flying to the UK for good and moving in to Kensington Palace with her beau. Later that month, they officially announced their engagement to the world.
Harry popped the question earlier that month while the pair were enjoying a quiet night in together, over a roast chicken dinner.
“It was just an amazing surprise,” Meghan said during their BBC interview. “It was so sweet and natural and very romantic.”
Harry added in the same besotted chat: “The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was sort of confirmation to me that all of the stars were aligned, everything was just perfect.”
Since then, Meghan has slotted into the royal lifestyle perfectly, attending public events, royal outings and even her first Christmas with the Queen last year.
The couple’s first official outing came in December, when they met fans together in Nottingham for a World Aids Day charity fair and school visit.
Harry and Meghan will be married this coming Saturday (May 19) at St George’s Chapel at Windsor castle. More than 600 guests are expected to attend the ceremony, before a more private and intimate reception that evening.
Thousands of well-wishers are expected to line the streets as the couple take their official carriage ride through the town after the service, with millions more watching on television and cheering them on as they start their new life together.