Prince Harry Gave Meghan Markle an ‘Amazing’ Fourth of July Gift on Their Second Date
The Fourth of July is special to Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Why? Because the Duke and Duchess of Sussex had their second date on the holiday in 2016. Harry, who’d arrived 30 minutes late to their first date one night earlier, came with “gifts” for Meghan.
Harry surprised Meghan with Fourth of July cupcakes on their second date
After meeting at Soho House’s 76 Dean Street location in London, England, on July 3, 2016 (see the pair talk about it in the video below), Harry and Meghan returned one day later on July 4, 2016.
In his 2023 memoir, Spare, Harry shared how, this time around, he arrived early with a sweet treat for Meghan to mark the American holiday.
“This time I was already there—waiting. Smiling. Proud of myself,” the now-39-year-old wrote (via Spare). “[Meghan] walked in, wearing a pretty blue sundress with white pinstripes. She was aglow.”
Harry continued, recalling how he presented Fourth of July cupcakes to his future wife. “I stood and said: ‘I bear gifts.’ A pink box. I held it forward. She shook it. ‘What’s this?’ ‘No, no, don’t shake it!’ We both laughed.”
Meghan then opened the box to reveal “red, white and blue cupcakes, to be exact. In honour [sic] of Independence Day.”
“I said something about the Brits having a very different view of Independence Day from the Yanks, but, oh, well,” Harry added, noting how Meghan had commented that the cupcakes “looked amazing.”
Harry and Meghan’s second date proved to be a big moment in their lives. It was then they planned a romantic trip to Botswana, which is where they later wanted to get married, and when they realized they wanted to try a long-distance relationship.
Meghan mentioned the Independence Day cupcakes in her royal wedding reception speech
In Netflix’s Harry & Meghan docuseries, Meghan read a speech she gave at her and Harry’s Frogmore House wedding reception after they were married at St. George’s Chapel, Windsor Castle, on May 19, 2018.
Calling it a “modern fairytale,” she told guests the “story” she wrote about how she and Harry met, which included the Fourth of July cupcakes.
“They meet on July 3, 2016, in London, and they giggle endlessly,” Meghan said. “So the next day they have their second date, and he brings her cupcakes because it’s [the] Fourth of July.”
“‘A bittersweet celebration,’” he says. Ironic, really. Her country’s independence from his country,” she continued. “Yet, in this moment, they know they don’t want to be independent of each other.”
Harry and Meghan now celebrate the American holiday with Archie and Lili
The Fourth of July looks a little different these days for the couple. Since welcoming Prince Archie, 5, in 2019 and Princess Lilibet, 3, in 2021, Harry and Meghan have been spotted celebrating Independence Day as a family.
In 2022, the Sussex family—minus Lili— made an appearance in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where they attended a parade over the holiday weekend (via Hello). Archie was seen in video footage captured by an onlooker wearing a red, white, and blue hat.
In a blink-and-miss-it Harry & Meghan scene, Archie can also be spotted holding an American flag while sitting on Meghan’s lap in the backseat of a car.
In 2023, Harry and Meghan stayed at home in Montecito, California. They celebrated by attending a local Fourth of July celebration where Harry was seen carrying Lili, who wore a festive red, white, and blue outfit.
