How Prince Harry ‘upped his game’ and wooed Meghan Markle in whirlwhind romance
PRINCE Harry has revealed he had no idea who his new fiancée Meghan Markle was when a mutual friend set them up on a blind date.
The smitten couple, who announced their engagement yesterday, have enjoyed a whirlwind romance since being set up by a friend in July last year.
But despite her success in hit TV show Suits, the young Royal, 33, claimed he had never heard of the American actress before they met.
In their first ever joint interview, Harry told the BBC: "I'd never even heard of her until this friend said 'Meghan Markle' - I was like 'right OK give me a bit of background.'
"I'd never watched any of Suits. I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her.
"I thought I'm really gonna have to up my game, sit down and make sure I have good chat."
The 36-year-old star agreed with Harry, claiming that her upbringing in US meant she was less aware of the royal family.
Of their first date, she said: "It was definitely a set-up. It was a blind date for sure. We talk about it now.
"Because I'm from the States you don't grow up with the same understanding of the royal family, I now know there's a global interest them."
Meghan explained that Harry's status didn't faze her, instead only being interested in his personality.
She said: "I didn't know much about him, the only thing I had asked her - was 'is he nice?' if he wasn't kind, it didn't seem like it would make sense.'
"And so we went and met for a drink and then it was like 'what are we doing tomorrow'. We got the diaries out and find out how we're going to make this work.
"We said where's the gap and the gap happened to be the perfect place."
According to one royal watcher, on that first date Meghan “was funny, feisty, confident and she wasn’t swayed or knocked by the fact he was Prince Harry. She thought he was terribly cute.”
Harry was said to be the one who was starstruck.
He found himself captivated by this divorcee who passionately described her part in a campaign for clean water in Rwanda.
He left with her phone number and reportedly bombarded her with texts until she agreed to meet him again.
Away from the limelight, the pair embarked on a clandestine relationship, involving covert trips across the Atlantic.
Their romance started with two back-to-back dates in London.
That summer, she was also spotted in the Royal Box at Wimbledon — something that might seem an obvious connection now, but at the time went unnoticed.
As did an online post, around the time they met, of a Loveheart sweet carrying the words “Kiss Me”, with the caption “Lovehearts in London” — and a picture just two days later of a trip to Buckingham Palace.
Despite Meghan living in Canada while filming Suits, the lovebirds say they "make it work" and have never been "more than two weeks without seeing each other".
But the pair will not have to put up with the long distance for much longer, as the actress will move in with her prince in Kensington Palace's Nottingam Cottage.
Explaining how their romance had blossomed, Harry said: "We met once and then twice, two dates back to back in London, last July.
"Then it was about 3 maybe 4 weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars for 5 days.
"Then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to each other."
Botswana has remained close to the couple's hearts, as it's where the couple have enjoyed several holidays together over the past year and a half, Kensington Palace said.
The romantic prince proposed with a ring he designed himself, which features three jewels, the centre of which is a diamond from Botswana.
The outside two stones are diamonds from the personal collection of Diana, Princess of Wales.