The love story between Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is one that many people are familiar with. However, this hasn’t stopped the couple from revealing more about the behind the scenes of their intimate lives together, what their relationship is really like, and the pressures from the royal family.
Prince Harry met US-born actress Meghan Markle in the summer of 2016 through mutual friends. In a cover story for Vanity Fair back in September 2017, she said: “We’re in love.”
The couple was first photographed together holding hands at the Invictus Games in 2017. The Invictus Games is an annual multi-sport event created by Harry in 2014 for wounded and disabled veterans.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding was in the media spotlight for months ahead of the event, which took place on May 19, 2018. The royal ceremony differed from others in the past, featuring elements of Meghan’s roots, such as a gospel choir. The ceremony was attended by many high-profile Hollywood personalities.
In May 2019, the couple welcomed their first child, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor. They welcomed their second child, Lilibet, in June 2021.
After much deliberation, the couple stepped back as senior royals in 2020 and have since relocated to the US, where they live with their two children. Their sharp criticism of the royal family’s culture was met with some shock around the world, but the couple also found a lot of support.
Since then, they have revealed more about their relationship through a Netflix documentary series. While many people had been concerned about Harry leaving his family for a woman, it turns out that Meghan’s friends were just as concerned for her.
By no means have Harry and Meghan kept their entire relationship under wraps. However, the pair were not completely prepared for the mass media attention they would receive following the announcement of their relationship, their engagement, and so on.
According to The Guardian, both Harry and Meghan were coached before doing their engagement interview. Harry shared that he thought Meghan and his late mother, Princess Diana, would have been “thick as thieves” and “best friends.” The couple also talked about how “the family have been so welcoming” to Meghan.
Unfortunately, the press did not take a liking to the American actress. At the time following the engagement interview, Meghan said that she was “believing what I had been told. It will pass. It will get better. It’s just what they do at the beginning.”
However, as the world now knows, it did not seem to get much better for Meghan and Harry, and the couple made the decision to leave the royal family in 2020.
The world also came to learn that the royal family may not have been as inviting as they previously seemed, as Meghan and Harry shared the hardships they faced with them during their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021.
Some fans have continued to support the couple, while others have cast them away. According to the New York Post, criticism toward Meghan and Harry grew even more following the release of their Netflix documentary series, “Harry & Meghan.”
Netflix described the series as “an unprecedented six-part documentary series that explores the span of their relationship, from the early days of the couple’s courtship to the challenges and controversies that led them to feeling forced to step back from their full-time roles in the institution.”
In the show, Harry talked about how his family was actually dismissive toward his relationship with Meghan because “she was an American actor,” so “it is easy to stereotype that.”
While many people were concerned about Harry leaving behind his royal life for Meghan, the series showed how Meghan’s friends also wondered if being with Harry was really worth all of the hardships she has faced and will continue to face.
The media coverage around the couple increased after word spread about their relationship, requiring Meghan to need extra security while she was still working on the set of “Suits,” according to BuzzFeed. Meghan even went to the police for extra protection, but they told her they couldn’t do anything about the paparazzi “because of who you are dating.”
She then received a death threat, and security was finally heightened. Her mail also had to be screened for security purposes. Meghan’s former security guard, Steve Davies, said, “This has been the most intense situation with the media.”
In the series, Meghan shared:
“When all of that started happening, my friends and people in my life who love me and care about me are like, ‘Is he worth this? We know that you’re happy and we know that you love him, but is he worth this? Look at what’s happening to your life.’”
While there’s no denying that Harry and Meghan have faced challenges throughout the course of their relationship, the pair have defied the odds and are still happily together today, and have a beautiful family. We can only wait to see what the future holds for them.
