Prince Harry Was Late for His First Date With Meghan Markle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have one of the most public relationships, but in their new docuseries, the royal couple gives everyone a closer look at their love story. On December 8, 2022, Netflix released the first three episodes of the highly anticipated six-part series, Harry & Meghan. In one of the episodes, the pair reflects on how they first met and their very first date. Spoiler alert: Harry was very late for their initial meeting.

In the series, the Duke of Sussex explains that social media played a huge role in their initial introduction. “I was scrolling through my feed, and someone who was a friend had this video of the two of them, like a Snapchat," he says,. Harry then asked the mutual friend about the girl in the video, so the friend reached out to Meghan and let her know that Harry was wondering about her. The friend then showed Meghan Harry’s Instagram account. “I went through it, and it was just beautiful photography, and all these environmental shots,” Meghan recalls in the episode.

After checking out each other’s social media profiles, the two agreed to meet up. Since the now-Duchess of Sussex was traveling to London for Wimbledon in 2016, they decided to arrange their first date at 76 Dean Street when Meghan was in town. According to Meghan, Harry was late for the get together. 

At first, Meghan was hesitant, wondering if Harry was “one of the guys who had so much of an ego that any girl would sit around and wait for a half hour for you,” she says in the docuseries. Once they finally met, Meghan admits her initial concerns weren't anything to worry about and describes him as “refreshingly fun” and felt like they were “childlike together.” During the date, they talked for about an hour before Meghan announced that she had other plans, according to the episode. That first date was a success. Meghan shares that she called Harry later that evening and asked him if he wanted to get dinner the following night. “I’m sure he told me it was so forward and American,” she laughs. 

On their second date, Meghan was the one who showed up late, Harry jokes. The episode shows a selfie of the couple from that dinner date, which Meghan says she snapped because she wanted to “capture the feeling.” After that second date, Meghan told her friend Silver Tree that she was already crazy about Harry. Another friend, Lindsay Jill Roth, said Meghan was “giddy” but “trying to live in the moment. “She wanted to just get to know him for him, not for who the public thought he was,” Roth explains. The feeling was mutual for Harry. “That was when it just hit me,” Harry says. “This girl, this woman is amazing, everything I’ve been looking for. She’s so comfortable and relaxed in my company.” Harry’s friend Nacho Figueras says the prince told him that Meghan might be the one. “You could tell right away that those were the eyes of someone who had fallen in love,” Figueras shares.

Harry also reveals a certain quality that drew him to Meghan. “So much of what Meghan is and how she is is so similar to my mum,” he shares. “She has the same compassion. She has the same empathy. She has the same confidence. She has this warmth about her.” Since Harry and Meghan had such a strong connection right off the bat, they decided to start a long-distance relationship, communicating through FaceTime and phone calls. They knew what they had was special, so they didn’t want to make it public yet. “I knew that the only way that this could possibly work is by keeping it quiet for as long as possible,” Harry says. 

After their second date, in August of 2016, Harry and Meghan spent five days together in Botswana, Africa, according to the first episode. “I was astonished that she said ‘yes,’” Harry admits. “This woman, that I’ve only met twice, she’s coming to Botswana, and we’re going to be living in a tent for five days.” Once Meghan arrived, the couple toured the area in a land cruiser. “For me, it was critical to share it with Meg,” Harry says. “To start with we’re sitting next to each other, and then, we progressed to holding hands, and then, we squeezed in a kiss amid the bumps, and then, everything felt totally normal and natural.” That romantic adventure ended up being the best way to fan the flame. “We had to get to know each other before the rest of the world and the media sort of joined in,” he says. 

At the beginning of their relationship, the duo also had a rule that they would see each other every two weeks. Meghan would often visit Harry in London since it was easier for her to go under cover. The couple says that privacy helped them develop a deeper bond. “It just accelerates your level of getting to know each other when you’re not out in the world in courtship,” Meghan explains. “You’re just together.”

Even though the rest of the royal family might have done things differently when it came to relationships, Harry notes in the new Netflix docuseries that he knew he wanted to marry for love. “I think for so many people in the family, especially the men, there can be a temptation or an urge to marry someone who would fit the mold, as opposed to somebody who perhaps are destined to be with,” he reveals. He explains that he takes after his mother, Princess Diana, who followed her heart.

Netflix will release the final three episodes of the new docuseries on December 15, 2022.