Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are said to have cracked when they first met in the summer of 2016. Almost two years later, the royal and the actress said yes. A stormy romance, the happy ending of which was not only sealed so quickly before the state and God out of a gut feeling.
When Prince Harry, 37, and Duchess Meghan, 40, stepped in front of the altar on May 19, 2018, they had been a couple for barely two years. In royal circles, an unusually short period of time to examine yourself. But Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, 96, was in a hurry to marry his American dream woman not only for romantic reasons. He obviously wanted to protect her.
Prince Harry: A whirlwind romance
A friend played cupid in July 2016 and brought the two together on a date. The royal tomboy and the bourgeois series star supposedly didn’t know much about each other yet. Harry is said to have said later that he had never heard of her before. Meghan explained that as a US citizen, she did not grow up “with the same understanding of the royal family” as Europeans. That’s why she “didn’t know much” about the British Royal and just wanted to know from her friend if he was nice.
A holiday together in Botswana allegedly followed only three to four weeks after the first meeting. Harry was traveling in Africa for a month at the time. Meghan visited him there for five days. “We camped together under the stars,” the blue-blooded lover later gushed. “That was absolutely fantastic!” Accelerated getting to know each other under fantastic conditions.
Official press release revealed Harry’s concern for Meghan’s safety
Only a few months later, the secret romance blew up. On October 31, 2016, the “Sunday Express” first speculated about the relationship of the unusual couple. Just a week later, Prince Charles’ youngest son, 73, hit the global headlines and confirmed his new love with an official press release. An unusual move.
The pictures of their stormy love
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“Prince Harry is concerned for Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he was unable to protect her. It is not right that Ms Markle should face such a storm after a few months of being with him. He knows it now means this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and ‘this is all part of the game’. He strongly disagrees with this opinion. This is not a game – it is her and his life,” reads an excerpt of the statement, which was made by Harry’s press secretary at the time Jason Knauf was released.
Then the events rolled over: The first paparazzi shots of the couple appeared and Harry is said to have picked up Meghan in May 2017 after the wedding of Duchess Catherine, 40, sister Pippa Middleton, 38, at Kensington Palace and took her to the wedding party. In September of the same year, we went to Toronto for the opening of the Invictus Games for the first time together, and in November the engagement ring flashed on Meghan’s finger. Of course, Harry’s family had already met the future wife of the Queen’s grandson.
Prince William expressed concerns
A love in a hurry, which is said to have worried Prince William, 39, in particular. According to former Vanity Fair editor Tina Brown’s new book The Palace Papers, the Duke of Cambridge was “nervous” at the pace at which his brother was about to formalize their relationship. Meghan should “have more time to build a life in Britain and make friends who didn’t always have to be taken to the palace in confidence,” a friend of the 39-year-old reportedly summarized the concerns and concerns of the royal and future heir to the throne in Brown words.
At this point, William knew exactly what he was talking about: his wife Catherine did not exactly find it easy to gain a foothold in the royal family as a commoner. He suspected that the pressure could be even higher on Meghan. As a well-known actress and the first black woman in the ranks of the British royals, the new sister-in-law would have to fight against prejudice, he suspected.
Protecting his family still plays a major role for Harry today
According to Brown, Harry is said to have drawn his own conclusions from this: a quick marriage and, as a result, police protection for the woman at his side. But his plan only partially worked out in the following years. All security measures did not protect Meghan from sometimes malicious headlines and claims that drove the couple to withdraw from the front line of the royal family and ultimately out of the country.
The couple are still concerned about their protection when staying in the UK. Harry is currently locked in a bitter legal battle with the UK government over the Home Office’s decision to withdraw his taxpayer-funded security.
In the ongoing legal case, he has said through his High Court solicitors that his family is “unable to return to his homeland” because it is too dangerous. That’s why it’s probably not yet clear if the Sussexes will join their children Archie, 2, and Lilibet in June 2022 for the Queen’s Platinum Jubilee celebrations in the UK. When asked about his participation a few days ago, Harry told American journalist Hoda Kotb: “I don’t know yet, there are a lot of things – security issues and everything else.”
According to “Mirror”, however, the problem could still be solved in time: The Queen’s grandson is theoretically entitled to taxpayer-funded protection if he takes part in public family events. A framework that his grandmother’s platinum jubilee should undoubtedly live up to.
Sources used: mirror.co.uk, Tina Brown: Palace Papers: The Windsors, the Power and the Truth.