Prince Harry was reportedly left speechless by the late Queen’s response when he asked if he could propose to Meghan Markle.
In keeping with tradition, the first six in the line of succession are required to ask permission from the reigning monarch – who was the late Queen Elizabeth II at the time – to propose to their partners.
When Harry felt it was time to take the next step in his relationship with the former actress, the now-40-year-old seeked out a good time to speak to his beloved grandmother.
The couple, who had only been dating for just over a year, got engaged in late 2017 – before tying the knot in Windsor in May 2018.
Detailing the moment in his memoir Spare, the royal claimed that he got a very “cryptic” response from the late Queen – despite wanting to make sure he caught her in a “good mood”.
After telling her how much he loved Meghan and wanted to marry her, he – according to his memoir – told her, “I’ve been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose”.
Harry claims that his grandmother then replied: “You have to?” to which Harry replied that is what he had been told.
As per the Mirror, he then details a moment of silence before the Queen replied and told him: “Well then, I suppose I have to say yes.”
Claiming he was thrown off by her reply, he wrote: “I didn’t get it. Was she being sarcastic? Ironic? Deliberately cryptic? Was she indulging in a bit of wordplay? I’d never known Granny to do any wordplay and this would be a surpassingly bizarre moment (not to mention widely inconvenient) for her to start, but maybe she just saw the chance to play off my unfortunate use of the word ‘have’ and couldn’t resist.”
Since their wedding, the couple have welcomed two children – Prince Archie, now aged five, and Princess Lilibet, now aged three. The family of four now reside in California after the couple made the decision to step back from royal life in 2020.
