Entertainment

Here’s How Prince Harry Knew Meghan Markle Was The One & Now I Believe In Love Again 

by Rachel Shatto
Chris Jackson/Getty Images Entertainment/Getty Images

I don't know if you've heard the news, but there's going to be royal wedding this weekend. Just kidding — of course you have. The news about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's wedding is everywhere, because, after all, who doesn't live for a fairytale love story? And their story definitely qualifies. But before all the media madness, before we ever even knew they were a thing, they were just two people trying to figure out if they could make a life together — and how Prince Harry knew Meghan Markle was the one is going to make you believe in true love all over again.

But before we spill the tea on all that romance, here's a little bit about the couple's backstory, in case you haven't been paying attention to every little detail like the obsessed weirdo that I happen to be. The couple first met in London back in July 2016. They were set up on a blind date by an unnamed mutual friend (According to E! News, a "well-placed source" says the matchmaker was Harry's childhood friend Violet von Westenholz, to whom Harry confided he was having difficulty meeting someone.) For Harry, there was an instant attraction. In an interview with the BBC following their engagement, Harry described how he felt when he first saw Meghan.

"I was beautifully surprised when I, when I walked into that room and saw her," he recounted. "There she was sitting there, I was like, 'OK, well, I’m really gonna have to up my game!'" Fortunately, the feeling was mutual. "We met for a drink," Markle told the BBC, adding, "and then I think very quickly into that we said, 'Well what are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again.'" And so the couple planned their second date, which so happened to be the next day, on the spot.

Shortly after meeting, Harry had to leave for a pre-planned trip to Africa, but rather than let the distance cut the budding romance short, he talked Meghan into joining him. As Harry explained to the BBC, his thinking in bringing Meghan along was that it would be an opportunity to really get to know one another away from the all the noise and distractions of their normal lives. "I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars," he said. "Then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure that we had a chance to get to know each other."

Needless to say, it went well, and after months of dating they came out publicly as a couple in November 2016 in an official dispatch released by Kensington Palace, in which Meghan was referred to as Harry's girlfriend. Oh, the royals, they're just like us! It was just one year later that the couple announced their engagement on Nov. 27, 2017. Talk about a whirlwind love affair — with an actual happy ending for once!

If that seems awfully fast to you, for Harry it was a sign they were meant to be. As he told the BBC, "the fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was a sort of confirmation to me that everything, all the stars were aligned. Everything was just perfect. It was this beautiful woman just sort of that — she tripped and fell into my life; I fell into her life."

Are you swooning yet? Well, just hold on, because when it comes to when Harry knew for sure that Meghan was the one, his answer was short and oh-so sweet. Harry said he knew “The very first time we met.” That just gave me all the feels. I can't wait to see these two walk down the aisle on Saturday!

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