Prince Harry And Meghan Markle Share Details About Their Proposal And How They Met

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After announcing their engagement today, Prince Harry and his American fiancée Meghan Markle sat down with the BBC’s Mishal Husain for their first interview as a couple.

Looking loved up and beaming with happiness, the pair shared details about how they met, their courtship, his proposal, and of course, what his grandmother’s pet corgis think of Meghan.

Here’s everything you’ll want to know:

On How They Met

Markle and the prince met on a blind date—going out for drinks in London— in July 2016, through a mutual friend whose identity they wouldn’t reveal. In the interview, both of them confessed to not knowing much about each other—although Markle said she confirmed through their friend that Harry was “nice” first.

“I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw, there she was sitting there,” Harry said. “I thought, ‘Oh, I’m really going to have to up my game,’ sit down and make sure I’ve got a good chat.” Their first date went so well that they met up the next day.

markle photo
Getty Images | Chris Jackson

After a couple successful first dates, the prince invited Markle on a trip to go camping in Africa.

“Three, or four weeks later, I managed to persuade her to join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars,” Harry explained. “We were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to know each other.”

Markle also explained that the couple kept their relationship private for five or six months, which enabled them to get to know each other out of the media spotlight.

On Dating Long-Distance

Markle is one of the stars of the USA Network show “Suits,” which films in Toronto. She began dating Prince Harry after acting for six seasons of the show, and they dated each other long-distance while she filmed the seventh season.

“We never went longer than two weeks without seeing each other,” Markle told Husain in the interview. “We made it work.” She added, “It was just a choice. I think that very early on when we realized that we were going to commit to each other that we knew we had to commit the time and the energy and whatever it took to make that happen.”

Prince Harry joked that Markle had no idea what time zone she has been in for the past year-and-a-half, because she has been going back and forth from Toronto to London.

On The Proposal

After a year-and-a-half of dating, Prince Harry proposed earlier this month at Kensington Palace on a “cozy night,” Markle said. The couple was roasting a chicken together and the proposal came as “an amazing surprise,” she said. “It was so sweet and natural and very romantic.” Prince Harry got down on one knee. “I could barely let you finish proposing—’Can I say yes now?'” Markle laughed.

Added Prince Harry, “I had the ring in my finger and I said ‘Can I give you the ring?’ and she said, ‘Oh yes, the ring!'”

LONDON, ENGLAND - NOVEMBER 27: Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace on November 27, 2017 in London, England. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been a couple officially since November 2016 and are due to marry in Spring 2018. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – NOVEMBER 27: Prince Harry and actress Meghan Markle during an official photocall to announce their engagement at The Sunken Gardens at Kensington Palace on November 27, 2017 in London, England. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been a couple officially since November 2016 and are due to marry in Spring 2018. (Photo by Chris Jackson/Chris Jackson/Getty Images)

On Her Engagement Ring

Prince Harry designed his fiancée’s ring himself: yellow gold, a larger diamond is sourced from Botswana, and two smaller diamonds that belonged to his mother, the late Diana, Princess of Wales, “to make sure that she’s with us on this crazy journey together,” Harry said.

markle photo
Getty Images | Chris Jackson

On Harry’s Late Mother—Diana, Princess Of Wales

Prince Harry’s mother, Diana, died in 1997 when he was 12 years old. In the interview today announcing his engagement, Harry said he particularly misses his mother at happy moments like this. Markle added that “not being able to meet his mom, it’s so important to me to know that she’s a part of this with us.”

Meeting Harry’s aunts and other people so important to Diana have been crucial to her, Markle continued, praising his “thoughtfulness” for including his mother’s diamonds in her engagement ring.

And Diana would have given her younger son’s fiancée her wholehearted approval, Harry said. “They would be thick as thieves,” the prince said, smiling. “She would be over the moon, jumping up and down, so excited for me. She probably would have been best friends with Meghan.”

princess diana photo
Getty Images | Lisa Lake

On Children

Not even Prince Harry can escape the “So, when are you going to have kids?” question. When asked by reporter Husain, “Children?” the prince joked, “Not currently, no.” He then added, “One step at a time—we’ll start a family in the near future.”

On The Queen’s Corgis

Not only did Queen Elizabeth give her blessing to Prince Harry’s fiancée, but her ever-present pack of corgis gave their approval.

“I’ve spent the last 33 years being barked at,” Harry joked. “This one walks in, absolutely nothing.”

Markle added, “[The corgis were] just laying on my feet during tea, it was very sweet.”

You can watch the entire, 20-minute interview with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle here:

Congratulations to the happy couple!

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