Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s relationship began with a one-hour date in London.
It soon developed into the pair dating, and before long, the two were a couple. They officially became man and wife in 2018 – and today, Harry and Meghan are living new lives with their two children in Montecito, California.
The two have had challenges through the years, not least because claims and revelations they have made about the royals and their troublesome life within the royal sphere.
From the outside, it might often seem like Harry and Meghan have nothing but love and smiles for each other. But just like any other couple, the Duke and Duchess have had their share of arguments.
In his memoir, Spare, Harry revealed that he once snapped at his wife and spoke to her “harshly” and “cruelly.”
Harry and Meghan’s relationship has been anything but peaceful and private. Since the day the paparazzi found out about their dating, the couple, have been firmly in the spotlight. The press played their part, of course, but Harry & Meghan themselves have been open with regards their story. They’ve spoken to the world via interviews, podcasts, a Netflix documentary series, and Harry’s book, Spare.
The beginning of Harry and Meghan’s relationship was, as is usually the case, a period of happiness. But even though they have created a wonderful family of four since, there have also been many ups and downs.
That’s not only with their royal rift in mind, nor the other problems they’ve put on record, but also with one another. Harry himself recently recalled one very heated argument that saw him snapp at his wife.
Harry & Meghan – first date
In December, Harry & Meghan released their Netflix documentary series. Through that, the Prince told the story of how the couple met in full, revealing that Meghan first caught his eye on Instagram when she appeared in a mutual friend’s video.
In said video, Meghan was wearing a filter that gave her dog ears. It was apparently enough to peak Harry’s interest.
“I was like, who is that?” Harry said in the documentary.
After that, one of their mutual friends introduced Meghan to Harry – and the rest, as they say, is history.
Meghan described how she was in London for the Wimbledon tennis tournament in 2016 when she and Harry 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 couldn’t understand why he would be late,” Meghan said in the series. “But he kept texting. He was like, ‘I’m in traffic. I’m so sorry.’”
“I was panicking, I was freaking out,” Harry added. “I was, like, sweating.”
Meghan explained that because she didn’t know Harry, she wondered if he was usually late.
“I was like, ‘Oh, is this what he does?’ Got it. Like this, I’m not doing. I’m not gonna sit…..”
“You can be as late as you want cause I ain’t moving”
“What’s that supposed to mean?” Harry interfered.
“Like you’re one of those guys who have so much of an ego that any girl would sit waiting for a half hour for you,” Meghan continued. “I was just not interested in that.”
Once Harry walked into the restaurant, though, Meghan quickly realized his being late wasn’t part of any tactic of plan.
“I was a hot, sweaty, red ball of mess,” Harry recalled.
“You were just so sweet,” Meghan added. “You were genuinely so embarrassed and late.”
The first date, which Meghan said was “refreshingly fun,” lasted about an hour. The next day, the couple met again – coincidentally, Meghan was five minutes late.
“I was like, ‘You can be as late as you want cause I ain’t moving,’” Harry reminisced.
He added: “That was when it just hit me like, this woman is amazing. She is everything that I’ve been looking for.”
Harry was over the moon when he started dating Meghan.
Married in 2018
A friend who appeared in the couple’s documentary explained how happy and excited the Prince was.
“Guys, I met a girl,” the friend recalled Harry saying. “We just met, but I think she’s the one.”
Meghan, meanwhile, explained how she and Harry shared a special connection from the beginning. Though their relationship was initially long-distance – and a secret to the world – it never stopped them.
“Everything was text and FaceTime, we’d talk for hours. It felt exciting but not in the way people would assume it would be,” Meghan said. “It was just relaxed and easy.”
The couple managed to survive the long-distance nature of their relationship before marrying in 2018. Two years later, they left the Royal Family.
Meghan has previously spoken out about the treatment she received while living as a British royal. In the aforementioned Netflix documentary, she revealed new details, including her initial reception in the UK.
Some of the media coverage has been condemned as flat-out racist, though Meghan also received public adoration from many quarters.
Harry & Meghan’s Netflix documentary
Harry knew the press would judge his partner down to the finest detail – just like they had done to his mother, princes Diana, and his previous girlfriends. He explained in the documentary that he didn’t know if he would ever find a love interest “capable” and “willing” to go through with it to live a royal life.
“Every relationship I had within a matter of weeks or months was splattered all over the newspapers, and that person’s family harassed, and their lives turned upside down,” Harry said.
“After one or two girlfriends, the third or fourth girlfriend would say, ‘Hand on a second. I don’t know if I want this.”
By the time Harry and Meghan’s royal duties officially ended on March 31, 2020, they had already welcomed baby Archie. The family then became four with the arrival of their daughter, Lilibet, in 2021.
In the first episode of the Netflix documentary, Harry and Meghan gave an intimate look into family life at their home in Montecito, California. Their home was previously described as “Fort Knox,” and security is understandably tight.
Via the documentary, for the first time, Harry and Meghan let royal fans worldwide into their estate. There, viewers found Archie and Lilibet.
Harry and Meghan have been very restrictive about showing their children to the world. Archie and Lilibet have only appeared a few times in pictures, but the world has now gotten a better look at them.
Archie & Lilibet
Though the documentary has more serious parts, three-year-old Archie essentially stole the show, appearing several times. Not only that, but viewers heard him speak for the first time.
The series also included several intimate family pictures of Harry and Meghan with Archie. In one of the clips, the little boy runs up a hill while Lilibet is sitting in a stroller by her father. Another of the royal couple’s photos shows Harry cuddling up with Archie – wearing a knitted hooded jumper with bear ears – beneath an umbrella.
More photos follow, including those showing Archie and Meghan feeding their chickens and another from Archie’s birthday party, where Meghan’s mother, Doria Ragland, makes an appearance.
We all know that the late Princess Diana has been a significant figure for the Royal Family, but most of all for her sons, William and Harry. Harry has previously spoken about his mother, even comparing Meghan to her regarding the media following her around.
Diana also had a small part in the Netflix documentary, and not just through Harry’s recollections of her. In a heartbreaking scene, Meghan can be seen holding Archie in front of a picture of Diana while she explains who she is.
Other intimate pictures in the documentary revealed Archie resting on Meghan’s baby bump when she was pregnant with Lilibet. But the cutest picture of them all might be one where Archie is wearing a blue hat and blue Crocs, sitting on Harry’s shoulder in a sweet father-son moment.
Harry reveals details of Archie’s birth
The fact that Archie is talking might not come as a surprise. However, many fans reacted to the manner of Archie’s speech. As he’s been living in the US for quite a while, the young boy has adopted an American accent – and fans couldn’t help but remark on it.
While Harry and Meghan have their hands full raising their children and orchestrating other career-driven projects, the start of their parenthood was quite dramatic, at least for Harry.
In his book, Spare, Harry criticized many family members and brought other aspects of his life to the spotlight, including, for example, the day his mother, Princess Diana, died in a tragic car crash.
That said, the Prince also opened up on some of the more positive memories of his life.
In Spare, Harry described an extraordinary scene at Portland Hospital, London, where he decided to get high on laughing gas to calm himself down.
“But I saw two ways of enhancing my calm. One: Nando’s chicken (brought by our bodyguards). Two: A canister of laughing gas beside Meg’s bed. I took several slow, penetrating hits,” Harry wrote in his tell-all book.
“Meg was so calm. I was calm too.”
“The anesthetist hurried in”
He added: “Meg, bouncing on a giant purple ball, a proven way of giving nature a push, laughed and rolled her eyes. I took several more hits, and now I was bouncing too.”
Harry then explained that a nurse tried giving his wife the gas for the pain, but he had already consumed it.
“I could see the thought slowly dawning. Gracious, the husbands had it all. ‘Sorry,” I said meekly.’”
Eventually, doctors decided to give Meghan an epidural to ease the pain.
“The anesthetist hurried in. Off went the music, on went the lights. Whoa. Vibe change.”
Though there was an initial worry that Archie had been tangled up in his umbilical cord, he emerged unharmed – reducing both Harry and Meghan to tears.
The birth of their first child was as special as when they welcomed Lilibet in 2021. On June 4, 2021, the Sussexes announced the birth of their daughter at the Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital Emergency. On that occasion, no paparazzi photographers were camped outside of the hospital waiting to get a picture of the new baby.
Harry & Meghan ate burgers and fajitas during Lilibet labor
In comparison to Archie’s birth, Harry and Meghan decided to keep as much as possible private regarding Lilibet. They released a short statement sharing the happy news after her entrance into the world.
“Lili was born on Friday, June 4, at 11:40 a.m. in the trusted care of the doctors and staff at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in Santa Barbara, CA. She weighed 7 lbs 11 oz. Both mother and child are healthy and well and settling in at home,” the statement read.
“Lili is named after her great-grandmother, Her Majesty The Queen, whose family nickname is Lilibet. Her middle name, Diana, was chosen to honour her beloved late grandmother, The Princess of Wales … The Duke and Duchess thank you for your warm wishes and prayers as they enjoy this special time as a family.”
In Spare, Harry revealed that the couple paced around their room at the hospital, eating burgers and fajitas during the first hours of labor.
When the doctor told them their daughter was just a few minutes from coming into the world, Harry got to work and, with assistance from a medical professional, delivered Lilibet himself. He claimed he wanted to be the first face the tiny infant saw as she entered the world.
“I cradled her just a moment, trying to smile at her, to see her, but honestly I couldn’t see anything,” Harry wrote in Spare, adding that he wondered if she was frightened.
“I’ve never been more in love with you..”
He wanted to tell his wife: “Don’t be, don’t be, all will be well. I’ll keep you safe.”
As any parent will know, the feeling of seeing one’s child for the first time is one nobody can adequately describe. The same rang true for Harry and Meghan, and right after they had returned home from the hospital, the couple shared a very intimate moment.
Before they knew it, it was time to travel home with their new addition, ready to start a new chapter in their lives. Harry recalled an extraordinary moment he shared with Meghan during those first few hours as a family of four.
In his book, Harry recalled that they were doing “skin-to-skin” with Lilibet, and Meghan said: “I’ve never been more in love with you than in that moment.”
For his part, Harry was unsure whether to believe her or not.
He asked, “Really?” only for Meghan to confirm by repeating the loving words to him.
Harry and Meghan might be a Duke and Duchess. But in the end, they are ordinary people, just like anyone else. The couple has always shown great love and affection for one another in public.
Harry snapped at Meghan during heated argument
But in his book Spare, Harry revealed an incident in 2016 that saw him snap at his then-girlfriend Meghan.
“Maybe the wine went to my head. Maybe the weeks of battling the press had worn me down. For some reason, when the conversation took an unexpected turn, I became touchy,” Harry wrote.
“Then angry. Disproportionately, sloppily angry.”
Harry explained that Meghan took a comment he had made “the wrong way” because of the “cultural difference” between them. He then spoke to her “harshly” and “cruelly.”
“I was also just over-sensitive that night, I thought: ‘Why’s she having a go at me?’ I snapped at her, spoke to her harshly [and] cruelly,” Harry continued.
“As the words left my mouth, I could feel everything in the room come to a stop. The gravy stopped bubbling, the molecules of air stopped orbiting. Even Nina Simone seemed to pause.”
Meghan left the room and disappeared. He recalled her being away for a “full 15 minutes,” before he found her in their bedroom.
“She was calm, but said in a quiet, level tone that she would never stand for being spoken to like that. I nodded. She wanted to know where it came from,” Harry wrote in Spare. He remembered Meghan saying: “‘Where did you ever hear a man speak like that to a woman? Did you overhear adults speak that way when you were growing up?’ I cleared my throat, looked away [and responded], ‘Yes.’”
Meghan continued by saying she would never “tolerate” a partner or co-parent who yelled at her as he had done.
“She wasn’t going to raise children in an atmosphere of anger or disrespect. She laid it all out, super-clear,” Prince Harry wrote, noting that both he and Meghan “knew” that his anger wasn’t a result of their conversation.
“It came from somewhere deep inside, somewhere that needed to be excavated, and it was obvious that I could use some help with the job,” Harry explained.
“‘I’ve tried therapy,’ I told her. ‘Willy told me to go. Never found the right person.’ [It] didn’t work. ‘No,’ she said softly. ‘Try again.’”