Prince Harry asked Meghan to go to his place on their first date - she turned him down

August 06, 2024

Prince Harry wrote in his book Spare about his first date with Meghan Markle … and how she almost turned him down.

In his explosive memoir, which was released in January last year, Prince Harry explained how he tried to set up a date with his now-wife. 39-year-old Harry met Meghan Markle, 42, in 2016. They connected after Harry saw a video of her on his Instagram feed, posted by a mutual friend. Despite them hitting it off, not everything went so smoothly, especially when he asked her on their first date.

Harry and Meghan’s first date plans had its hiccups

In the book, Prince Harry wrote of organizing his and Meghan Markle’s first date. His quite forward suggestion seemed to throw the former TV actress. He said she didn’t immediately understand why he invited her to his place or understood his want for privacy.

He penned they had been texting late into the night and, before he went to sleep, asked if the two could see each other before she left to go back to North America. The star was set to return to Canada to resume filming the law drama Suits.

She responded by saying yes, but when he suggested “my place,” she was reluctant.

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“Your place?” she texted. “On a first date! I don’t think so.”

“No, I didn’t mean it like that,” he told her.

He then called being a royal “radioactive.”

“She didn’t realize that being royal meant being radioactive, that I was unable to just meet at a coffee shop or pub,” he said. “Reluctant to give her a full explanation, I tried to explain obliquely about the risk of being seen. I didn’t do a good job.

“She suggested an alternative. Soho House at 76 Dean Street. It was her headquarters whenever she came to London. She’d reserve us a table in a quiet room.”

He concluded: “No one else would be around. The table would be under her name. Meghan Markle.”

He compared the Duchess to Cinderella

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s first date took place on July 3, 2016. Not only had the duke surprised Meghan with his suggestion of a location for their romantic outing, but he was also 30 minutes late.

In the book he wrote: “Red-cheeked, puffing, sweaty, half an hour late, I ran into the restaurant, into the quiet room, and found her sitting at a small area on a low velvet sofa in front of a low coffee table.

He called the Hollywood star, whom he married in 2018, “heart attack beautiful.”

He wrote: “I’d seen so many photos of her from fashion shoots and TV sets, all glam and glossy, but here she was, in the flesh, no frills, no filter… and even more beautiful. Heart-attack beautiful.

“I was trying to process this, struggling to understand what was happening to my circulatory and nervous systems, and as a result, my brain couldn’t handle any more data. Conversation, pleasantries, the Queen’s English, all became a challenge.”

He said the conversation “really started to flow” after they gave their server their orders. “We both felt that special thrill when there’s too much to talk about, when there isn’t enough time to say all that needs to be said.”

Then when time to say goodbye rolled around, he quipped: “Compared to her, Cinderella was the queen of long goodbye.”

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