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TL; DR: 

  • Prince Harry and Meghan Markle became engaged after approximately 16 months of dating.
  • Meghan Markle said she “wouldn’t call it” a “whirlwind” during her and Prince Harry’s engagement interview.
  • “We were able to really have so much time just to connect,” she said.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry are living their post-senior royal lives. They have a sprawling mansion in Montecito, California, two kids, and pets. But before becoming parents or sitting down for their now-famous Oprah interview, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were just another royal love story. 

However, unlike other royal couples, their romance had a shorter timeline to the altar. Harry and Meghan became engaged about 16 months after being introduced by a mutual friend. Although according to the former Suits star it didn’t feel like a whirlwind. 

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement in November 2017

Following much speculation, Clarence House released a statement on November 27, 2017, announcing Harry and Meghan’s engagement.

“His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle,” it read. 

A few details were also mentioned from their wedding date (“spring 2018”) to when they became engaged (“earlier this month”). Also included in the statement was that Harry told Queen Elizabeth II the news along with “other close members of his family.” He also got Meghan’s parents’ “blessing.” 

Meghan Markle said her relationship with Prince Harry didn’t feel like a ‘whirlwind’

Following the announcement, Meghan and Harry posed for photos at Kensington Palace’s Sunken Garden. They smiled and giggled while photographers snapped away with their cameras. 

In addition to the photos, Harry and Meghan sat down for an engagement interview with BBC. They opened up about their first date and, of course, Harry’s marriage proposal. 

As the two recalled, they’d been at Nottingham Cottage roasting a chicken having what Meghan described as a “cozy night.” It happened about a year and a half after they first met, the couple told interviewer Mishal Husain.

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Asked if it felt like a whirlwind, Meghan replied it didn’t feel that way. “I don’t think that I would call it a whirlwind in terms of our relationship,” she said. “Obviously, there have been layers attached to how public it has become after we had a good five, six months almost with just privacy, which was amazing.” 

“But no, I think we were able to really have so much time just to connect and we never went longer than two weeks without seeing each other, even though we were obviously doing a long-distance relationship,” she added, saying they “made it work.” 

Meghan Markle said they knew ‘very early on’ they were going to commit to each other’

Unlike Prince William and Kate Middleton, Harry and Meghan’s relationship didn’t begin with them as friends. About a month after their first date, Harry convinced Meghan to go to Botswana with him. 

“We camped out with each other under the stars,” Harry said, sharing they spent five days together. “We were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure that we had a chance to get to know each other.”

And, as Meghan said, “very early on” they realized they going to “commit to each other and “invest the time and the energy and whatever it took to make that happen.” 

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