Prince Harry left William "speechless" with words about Meghan

If you had told people in 2015 that Prince Harry would meet, date, and marry Meghan Markle, the famous actress from the television series Suits, it’s unlikely many would have believed you.

Add to that the suggestion that Harry and Meghan people leave the Royal Family two years after their marriage – before leveling several serious accusations against them – and you might well have been laughed at.

Yet that’s exactly what happened. Harry and Meghan met for the first time in 2016, and it didn’t take long before they fell in love. In 2018, the couple tied the knot at St George’s Chapel, but already by that point, tensions had grown between the Sussexes and Prince William & Kate Middleton. Harry has since told the story of how William didn’t think he had thought his relationship with Meghan through, not to mention the fact that the former actress and Kate didn’t get along too well.

The British Royal Family has always had a very particular way of doing things, and looking back in history, marrying someone from outside of the UK usually meant that person was part of another monarchy. Harry decided to go his own way, following his heart. Yet when he broke the news, William and Kate’s reaction was probably not what he had expected.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s love story goes back many years. Meghan’s friend set up a date for the couple in 2016. In their Netflix series Harry & Meghan, the now-Duchess described how she was in London for the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 2016 when she and Harry initially made plans to meet.

They scheduled a dinner, though things could have gotten off to a better start. Harry and Meghan were to meet at the Soho House in London, but the actress was forced to wait on her date for 30 minutes as Harry was running late.

“I was panicking, I was freaking out,” Harry added. “I was, like, sweating.”

“You were just so sweet,” Meghan added. “You were genuinely so embarrassed and late.”

How Prince Harry met Meghan Markle

The first date, which Meghan said was “refreshingly fun,” lasted about an hour. The next day, the couple met again – coincidentally, the actress was five minutes late. A friend who appeared in the couple’s documentary explained how happy and excited the prince was. Meghan, meanwhile, described how she and Harry shared a special connection from the beginning. Though their relationship was initially long-distance – a secret to the world – it never stopped them.

Just like many before her, Meghan Markle had to deal with shocking press coverage once her relationship with Harry became public. She was the subject of racist remarks, leaving Harry furious. In November 2016, he decided to put out a statement that not only confirmed that he and Meghan were dating but also looked to defend her from the racist abuse she had been the victim of.

Kensington communications secretary Kasom Knauf – who represented Harry, Prince William, and Kate Middleton – shared a rare statement defending Meghan-.

“Meghan Markle has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment,” the message read. “Some of this has been very public—the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.”

Prince William & King Charles were “furious” about Harry’s Meghan statement

Harry also touched on the subject in his book Spare, expressing the importance of defending Meghan.

“I showed the essay to Jason (Knauf, former Kensington Palace Communications Secretary), said we needed a course correction immediately. No more debate, no more discussion. Within a day, we had a draft. Strong, precise, angry, honest. I didn’t think it would be the end, but maybe the beginning of the end.”

Harry further explained that the statement left King Charles and Prince William furious.

“My statement generated a whole new onslaught from my family. Pa and Willy (King Charles and Prince William) were furious. They gave me an earful. My statement made them look bad, they both said. Why in hell? Because they’d never put out a statement for their girlfriends, or wives when they were being harassed.”

Of course, Meghan comes from an entirely different background than Prince Harry. Every person marrying into the royal fold has to learn the royal way of life, with all its traditions, codes, and etiquette. It was reportedly no different for Meghan, though things could have gone better in the beginning, including her first meeting with Kate Middleton.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle revealed many things about their royal life in the infamous Oprah Winfrey interview, which aired about a year after their exit from the monarchy. The couple accused one Royal Family member of racism after said individual questioned the soon-to-be-born Prince Archie’s skin color, and Meghan claimed she had been suicidal because of the lack of help she got for her poor mental health.

Meghan Markle’s ‘awkward’ first meeting wit Prince William and Kate Middleotn

In 2023, the Sussexes released a Netflix special which took fans behind the scenes of their new life, including pictures and videos of their children, Archie and Lilibet. The couple didn’t miss the opportunity to dwell on their royal past.

Prince Harry decided to reveal several details about how Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle didn’t get along at all. The Duchess recalled her first meeting with Kate Middleton, which wasn’t the most successful.

“When Will and Kate came over, and I met her for the first time, they came over for dinner, I remember I was in ripped jeans, and I was barefoot,” Meghan recalled. “I was a hugger. I’ve always been a hugger, I didn’t realize that that is really jarring for a lot of Brits.”

She continued: “I guess I started to understand very quickly that the formality on the outside carried through on the inside. There is a forward-facing way of being, and then you close the door and go ‘You can relax now’, but that formality carries over on both sides. And that was surprising to me.”

Harry also explained that his brother “recoiled” when Meghan tried to hug him, as he didn’t often hug strangers.

Authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand claimed in their book Finding Freedom that Meghan and Kate didn’t exactly feud from the start, but that it was rather a case of the two women not knowing each other well enough. Scobie has been known to have close ties to Harry and Meghan, considering himself their friend.

“Meghan would agree with the assessment that the duchesses were not the best of friends,” they wrote. “Their relationship hadn’t progressed much since [Markle] was Harry’s girlfriend.”

Prince Harry claims William & Kate were “speechless” when he told them about Meghan

Moreover, Durand and Scobie add that Kate didn’t make a significant effort to welcome Meghan into the family, at least not in the way people might have expected.

Meghan had hoped that Kate would take her under her wing and guide her through all the new things that someone coming from “outside to the Firm” should know. However, the authors claim that never happened.

“Meghan was disappointed that she and Kate hadn’t bonded over the position they shared, but she wasn’t losing sleep over it,” Durand and Scobie wrote in Finding Freedom, adding that “Meghan would far rather have had Kate check in on her during the most difficult times with the press.”

Prince William and Kate Middleton have never spoken on the claims Harry or Meghan have made about them. The likelihood that they ever will is low, but that hasn’t stopped the rumors.

Before Meghan Markle had even met William or Kate, she had, according to Prince Harry, made quite the first impression. According to Harry’s book Spare, when the now-estranged prince revealed to his brother and sister-in-law that he was dating the television actress, they were “speechless.” Harry described how the couple was “open-mouthed” when they found out that he was dating Meghan. Sadly for him, William was not convinced.

“When all’s said and done, Harold, she’s an American actress, anything could happen,” William told his brother.

Prince William feared Prince Harry was ‘blindsided by lust

Even though William initially appeared to like Meghan, he was also concerned. Harry and his then-girlfriend’s relationship moved exceptionally quickly after a friend had set them up on the aforementioned blind date — and according to Finding Freedom author Omid Scobie, the future king had troubles with it. About a year before the wedding — and about a year after they began dating —Prince William wanted to talk with Harry about Meghan.

William was said to have told his brother, “Don’t feel you need to rush this,” and “Take as much time as you need to get to know this girl.”

Scobie and Durand continued by saying that Harry was “pissed off” that William even asked him to take it slow, while the phrase “the girl” bothered him.

Harry and Meghan, of course, took little to no notice of the idea that they weren’t a good fit for one another. The couple married, left the Royal Family, and welcomed two children, but the allegations they have made about the monarchy since then have come at a price.

In short, their relationship with the Royal Family is non-existent. Harry and his brother haven’t spoken for over two years, and Meghan and Kate will most likely never become anywhere near close again. Sadly for the Sussexes, this doesn’t affect only them but their children too. Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet don’t have any relationship with their royal cousins, George, Charlotte, and Louis, and it remains to be seen if they’ll ever have one.

Sadly, it’s up to their parents to try to mend the situation, but at this point, no one knows if it’s possible. Nonetheless, royal experts have long urged Harry and Meghan to make amends with the Royal Family for their children’s sake.

Prince Harry & Meghan Markle’s children are the ‘key’ to royal reunion

Recently, the Sussexes are reported to have bought a property in Portugal. That means they are much closer to the Royal Family, and it might give Archie and Lilibet a chance to get to know the royal side of their family.

Former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! that Prince Harry and Meghan’s decision to buy a house in Portugal is an effort to end the feud with the Firm.

“It can only be good for the children to mix with at least some of their royal cousins. How curious and sad it will be for Archie and Lilibet if they grow up knowing they are part of one of the most famous families in the world,” Jennie Bond said.

“They are estranged from almost all of them. To know that their grandfather and uncle were both Kings, and they didn’t know them. The Portugal house does suggest that Harry and Meghan want the children to experience European culture, and get to know Eugenie’s kids.”

The royal expert continued: “Perhaps we shall finally see some pictures of the Sussex brood, playing with their cousins.”

“It may well be that with Donald Trump back in the White House, Harry and Meghan might spend more time in their Portugal house, at least in the school holidays,” Bond concluded. “By now, they must be steeped in the Californian way of life and sound like proper little Americans.”

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