Royal romance: New book lifts lid on early days of Harry and Meghan’s love story

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle, as she was then known, did everything in their power to keep their blossoming relationship a secret, after being introduced by a mutual friend back in 2016. But now, a new biography of the couple has shed some light on those secretive early days, long before the royal wedding and the birth of their son Archie.

The book titled ‘Finding Freedom’ has been penned by royal reporters Carolyn Durand and Omid Scobie and is based on their experiences as members of the royal press corps, as well as including comments from sources said to be close to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. However Meghan and Harry themselves have not contributed to the biography.

So far three excerpts have been published by The Times and Sunday Times ahead of the book’s official release next month, the most recent of which focuses on the beginning of the couple’s relationship – allegedly revealing what really happened on that first date at Soho House, their time in Botswana and the fallout after their relationship became public knowledge after four months of blissful secrecy.

“Over drinks (beer for him, a martini for her), they asked each other questions about their work,” Scobie and Durand write, describing the couple’s blind date at the swanky London venue. The book continues: “At the end of the evening, which had lasted almost three hours, Harry and Meghan went their separate ways. Despite the palpable attraction between them, there was no goodbye kiss, no expectation, just a hint that something was there and they hoped to see each other again soon.

“No one expected what happened next. ‘Almost immediately they were almost obsessed with each other,’ a friend said. ‘It was as if Harry was in a trance.’” Meghan called one of her girlfriends. ‘Do I sound crazy when I say this could have legs?’ she asked.”

The biography goes on to detail the couple’s first official dinner date the following day, and Meghan’s first introduction to royal life as she joined Prince Harry at Kensington Palace for their second solo date, all in a matter of days. Six weeks later, after Meghan returned to her home in Toronto, Harry whisked his future wife away to Botswana.

“He told her to arrive in London and he would handle the rest,” the book reads. “A friend said, ‘She came back smiling and just completely spellbound.’ Her phone was full of photos — the nature they had seen, candid snaps of herself, and selfies with Harry. According to the friend, if Meghan didn’t have to return to Canada for work and Harry to his life in London, ‘they would have happily spent the entire summer there together’. Meghan said that she and Harry talked so much, about things she rarely shared with anyone.”

The biography has also made some more shocking claims, including that Prince William reportedly told Harry to “take as much time as you need to get to know this girl”, with the authors claiming that Harry perceived his brother’s choice of words as snobbish and condescending. The biography also alleges that Meghan was referred to as “Harry’s showgirl” by a senior-ranking royal, and that another family member told an aide: “She comes with a lot of baggage.”