Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem like a fairy tale couple, but online bullying and
racial discrimination have hounded the couple.
Can their relationship endure it?
Keep watching to learn the dirt.
In 2016, Prince Harry was often a third wheel with his brother, Prince William, and sister-in-law,
Kate Middleton, the Duchess of Cambridge.
American actor Meghan Markle was single following the end of her first marriage.
Little did the pair know, their paths would cross very soon.
In their engagement interview, Harry and Meghan said they were set up on a blind date by a
mutual friend but declined to give a name to protect their pal's privacy.
Speculation pointed to Meghan's friend Jessica Mulroney, a stylist with many high-profile
clients, but E! News revealed the real matchmaker to be ​royal confidant, Violet von Westenholz.
According to E! News, Violet's father is a friend of Prince Charles, so she's been close
to Harry for years.
Meghan met the socialite through her work with Ralph Lauren, and the two became fast
friends.
An anonymous source told E! News:
"When Harry told Violet he was having trouble finding someone, Violet said she might just
have the perfect girl for him."
After two successful dates, Prince Harry decided it was time to take his relationship with
Meghan Markle to the next level.
Most people wouldn't take someone on a vacation for their third date, but most of us aren't
princes.
Harry said in their 2017 engagement interview that a few weeks after their first two dates,
he invited her on a trip to Africa.
Harry revealed:
"I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana, and we camped out with each
other under the stars."
According to the book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal
Family by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, they headed to Johannesburg , South Africa,
after spending a night at Harry's Kensington Palace home.
They flew on a private plane to a remote location where they spent time in a luxurious tent
viewing wildlife.
In their engagement interview, the couple revealed that Meghan's engagement ring includes
a central stone from Botswana, since the country holds such a special place in their hearts.
"The main stone itself I sourced from Botswana, and the little diamonds on the side are from
my mother's jewelry collection."
The pair would return to Africa as husband and wife on their 2019 tour, meeting with
African charities and locals.
It was anything but smooth sailing for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle once the news of their
relationship was out.
In November 2016, Harry was forced to make an official statement regarding their relationship
after press and social media harassment made him fear for Meghan's safety.
According to People, the palace statement asked for members of the press to ease up
on the, quote, "wave of abuse and harassment," especially concerning coverage with racial
undertones.
The couple kept a low profile over the next year, but they made their first ever official
public appearance in September 2017.
Harry chose the Invictus Games, an event close to his heart, which took place in Toronto
that year.
Meghan sat in the crowd away from Harry during the opening ceremony but moved to sit next
to him during the wheelchair tennis match.
On November 27, 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped outside Kensington Palace to
announce their engagement.
You might expect a royal family member would set up the world's most elaborate proposal,
but when it came time for Harry to pop the question to Meghan, he took a much simpler
route.
Harry asked Meghan to marry him during a quiet evening at home after they'd made roast chicken.
In their November 2017 engagement interview, the couple shared they'd been together for
about a year and a half and that the proposal caught Meghan completely off guard.
"Just an amazing surprise, it was so sweet and natural and very romantic."
Though some media outlets questioned whether Harry proposed in Africa versus their Nottingham
Cottage home, Harry had only made his serious intentions known to Meghan in Africa.
So while it wasn't an official proposal, they both knew marriage was the end goal.
The nuptials of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took place on May 19, 2018, in a more intimate
venue than that of Prince William and Kate Middleton.
The couple married in St. George's Chapel, located on the private grounds of Windsor
Castle.
The chapel allowed for a smaller wedding, sitting around 600 guests.
The wedding was televised, but in keeping with the couple's desire for a more private
life, they opted to hand-select who could stand inside the castle gates.
According to the official website of the British royal family, this included representatives
from charities and people who had done work in their communities.
But it didn't stop the public from lining the streets of Windsor, where Harry and Meghan
took a carriage ride through town to greet fans.
They reflected on the day in their 2021 Oprah interview, saying they exchanged vows in private
three days before the wedding.
However, the Archbishop of Canterbury rebuffed that the legal wedding was on that Saturday,
according to NBC.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are proud parents of two, but the world doesn't know much about
their children.
Their son, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor, was born on May 6, 2019.
According to Marie Claire, the couple appeared for a photo shoot at Windsor Castle two days
after his birth, but they didn't hold the traditional media moment on the hospital seps.
For the most part, Archie's life has remained intensely private.
When the pair announced they were expecting a second child, they upped their privacy game
even more.
The couple has never released a photo of their daughter, Lilibet Diana, who was named after
the queen and Harry's mother, Princess Diana.
According to the Daily Beast,
"[Harry and Meghan] appear to be seeking nothing less than complete anonymity for their kids."
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have never had an easy time with the press, starting
with the 2016 palace statement Harry released regarding the media's harassment of Meghan.
The British press has criticized Meghan for everything, from her biracial background to
her status as an older, divorced American actor.
The Daily Mail even accused Meghan of supporting drug cartels, murder, and environmental abuse
by eating avocado toast.
When it was announced that Meghan's father accepted money from paparazzi, the couple
faced an endless media circus.
In a 2019 interview with Tom Bradby, the couple admitted their individual struggles.
Harry expressed wanting to shield Meghan from the same media attention his mother, Princess
Diana, received.
When asked how she was coping, Megan shared in an ITV News interview:
"Also thank you for asking, because not many people have asked if I'm okay."
She spoke of the difficult time she faced as a new wife and mother, while Harry talked
about how the relentless media attention reminded him of his mother's fatal car accident while
being chased by paparazzi.
Harry told Oprah Winfrey in 2021, he was worried about, quote, "history repeating itself."
Like every couple, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have their share of disagreements.
But the one argument they made public was about Harry's mental health.
Harry shared the details in a documentary he filmed with Oprah Winfrey called The Me
You Can't See.
Discussing that Meghan saw how he dealt with his mental health, Harry shared that he initially
got defensive.
He said:
"When she said, 'I think you need to see someone,' that was in reaction to an argument we had."
Harry continued that he, quote, "reverted back to 12-year-old Harry" in the spat.
He confessed that he realized he needed to properly address his mental health or else
lose his relationship.
Once he started seeing a therapist, the prince shared in the documentary that he realized
he'd never truly dealt with the grief and trauma of his childhood.
Harry had already sought out therapy in previous years, which he credited to his brother, Prince
William, in a 2017 podcast interview with The Telegraph's Bryony Gordon.
In the interview, Harry said he was doing much better mentally and had been able to
focus on his work and private life in a healthier way thanks to therapy.
But the intense media interest in his relationship caused him to seek out additional help down
the line.
If you or someone you know is struggling with mental health, please contact the Crisis Text
Line by texting HOME to 741741, call the National Alliance on Mental Illness helpline at 1-800-950-NAMI
(6264), or visit the National Institute of Mental Health website.
After a difficult year, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle headed to Canada for a six-week reset
in 2019 to celebrate the holidays.
However, the world — and the palace — didn't know that the break would become permanent.
According to Vanity Fair, Harry and Meghan decided to seek a new path while on Vancouver
Island for the holidays.
The couple was frustrated they couldn't meet with family for another month to discuss their
future, so they posted a statement on their Instagram account.
The statement said they would be returning to the U.K. in early January, as well as their
intent to split their time between the U.K. and North America.
The post went on:
"We intend to step back as 'senior' members of the Royal Family and work to become financially
independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen."
In the following weeks, the family held meetings to work out an agreement, with Harry joining
them for The Sandringham summit in mid-January 2020, according to BBC News.
On January 18, 2020, the queen issued a statement that the Sussexes would officially be stepping
back from all royal duties.
After their high-profile departure from royal life, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's world
is quite different.
In the U.K., the couple had been living at Frogmore Cottage, just a stone's throw from
Windsor Castle.
Upon moving to the U.S. in 2020, they temporarily stayed in an $18 million Beverly Hills, California,
mansion owned by actor Tyler Perry, according to Page Six.
By the summer of 2020, Harry, Meghan, and Archie had a home of their own: a $14.65 million
mansion in Montecito, California.
Featuring everything from a wine cellar and a home theater to a whopping 16 bathrooms,
the house has everything the young family could dream of — including a chicken coop,
as the couple showed Oprah Winfrey around during their 2021 interview.
It's not the same as tiaras and palaces, but it sounds like California suits the couple
just fine.
Although they are no longer carrying out official royal duties, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
are keeping busy with their own initiatives in the U.S.
They work together on Archewell, the organization they launched in April 2020.
Named for their son, Archewell combines a nonprofit foundation with audio and video
production divisions in conjunction with Spotify and Netflix, according to Harper's Bazaar.
In their Oprah Winfrey interview, the couple shared they no longer receive family money
since they no longer work to support the queen.
Being such a high-profile couple, they quickly signed commercial deals with Netflix and Spotify
to support themselves in their new life, with their Spotify deal estimated at a staggering
$25 million, according to ITV.
One of their projects is an animated Netflix show called Pearl, for which Meghan partnered
with their friend David Furnish.
According to Forbes, Harry and Meghan visited New York City in September 2021 to support
causes close to their hearts, like vaccine equity.
People reported that the pair had written about the pressing issue in a letter to G20
Summit leaders they co-wrote with the director-general of the World Health Organization.
Sounds like the pair has quite a lot on their hands, even without their royal duties!
One of the most significant moments in Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship took
place in March 2021 when they sat down with Oprah Winfrey for an exclusive interview.
The CBS special featured a candid conversation with the couple, who spoke about everything
from race to Harry's relationship with the royal family.
The couple also discussed topics including the new royal baby, their plans to keep their
family to two kids, and Meghan's connection to Princess Eugenie before meeting Harry.
But most of the interview revealed upsetting aspects of the couple's relationship, including
the revelation that Meghan experienced suicidal thoughts while living in the U.K. Meghan confessed
the toll the pressures of royal life took on her mental health, revealing to Oprah that
she once attended an event with Harry because she felt she couldn't be left alone.
Harry spoke of his worries about Meghan and his comparison to his mother, sharing he didn't
want the same thing to happen to his wife.
Harry confessed his own mental health struggles, revealing Meghan saved him from being trapped
in palace life.
When asked if he would've ever left the royal family without meeting Meghan, he responded:
"I would not have been able to."
If you or anyone you know is having suicidal thoughts, please call the National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline​ at​ 1-800-273-TALK (8255)​.