Seven years ago, an official announcement from Clarence House revealed Meghan Markle had become engaged to Prince Harry, and the pair sat down for an official interview and photocall at Kensington Palace – the former home of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana of Wales.
In a simple three-worded response describing her first interaction with Princess Kate, Meghan gushed: “She’s been wonderful.”
Harry added of his father that they’d had “a handful of teas and meetings and all sorts of gatherings over at his place” to get to know the family.”
Harry also added: “The family together have been absolutely, you know, a solid support, and my grandparents as well [Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip] have been wonderful throughout this whole process, and they’ve known for quite some time.”
Meghan further added: “They’ve been amazing.”
Harry and Meghan were interviewed by BBC’s Mishal Husain, but Meghan later said the day’s events felt “rehearsed” in the couple’s 2022 Netflix docuseries ‘Harry & Meghan’, adding that it felt like an “orchestrated reality show”.
In the docuseries, Meghan said she was instructed to “show the ring” and said “We weren’t allowed to tell our story, because they didn’t want —” before Harry said, “We were never allowed to tell our story”.
Discussing Meghan’s comments in Saga magazine, Mishal said: “When the Duchess of Sussex said that my engagement interview with her and Harry was an ‘orchestrated reality show’ I didn’t know what to make of it.
“They seemed to have thought through what their new lives would be like and what marriage would mean for her life in particular. There was nothing that pointed to what would happen. It was two people who were full of joy in each other and life.”
Mishal previously spoke out about Meghan’s comments in 2022 with her saying: “At the time it seemed like a rather charming interview of two people very much in love and Mishal lobbing questions at them.
“We know recollections may vary on this particular subject, but my recollection is definitely very much ‘asked to do an interview, and do said interview.”
Just five months after the interview took place, Meghan and Harry – now parents of two – tied the knot in Windsor on May 19, 2018 – with many royals and celebrity friends in attendance.
Meghan claims she became the centre of a media frenzy as soon as her romance with the prince came to light. The pair later cited their struggle with the attention as a contributing factor to their exit from the Firm.
A year after their departure, the couple sat down with friend and legendary chat show host Oprah Winfrey for a tell-all interview about their experiences in the Firm.
Following the interview, Meghan and Harry released a six-part documentary on Netflix, and Harry penned a bombshell memoir titled, Spare, which further highlighted relationships within the Firm and life growing up as a royal.
