Love is in the air – and hearts are melting the world over at Meghan Markle and Prince Harry’s loved-up quotes from their first interview together after becoming engaged.
The duo, who recorded this 20-minute interview shortly before appearing in front of the world’s media for their official engagement photo call, looked cosy and in love as they recalled their relationship from the start, one adorable soundbite after another.
We’ve got them all:
ON THE PROPOSAL
Meghan: “Just a cozy night, it was, what were we doing, just roasting chicken, trying to roast a chicken… It was an amazing surprise. It was so sweet and natural. Very romantic. He got on one knee.”
Harry: “It happened a few weeks ago, earlier this month… it was here at our cottage. It was a standard, typical night for us. It was a nice moment, it was the two of us. I think I managed to catch her by surprise as well.”
Meghan: “As a matter of fact I could barely let you finish proposing. I was like ‘can I say yes now?’”
Harry: “She wouldn’t let me finish. There were hugs and I had the ring in my hand and I was like, ‘Can I give you the ring now?’ and she said, ‘Oh yes, the ring!’”
ON THEIR FIRST MEETING
Meghan: “It was definitely a set up. It was a blind date. […] We met for a drink and then very quickly, we said, ‘Well what are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again.’”
Harry: “I never watched Suits, I never heard of Meghan before. I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her and there she was sitting there. I was like, ‘OK I really have to up my game here.’”
ON TAKING A TRIP TO BOTSWANA THREE WEEKS INTO DATING
Harry: “And then it was about three, maybe four weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars. She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic.”
ON FALLING IN LOVE
Harry: “For me, it’s an added member of the family, another team player as part of the bigger team. The fact that I fell in love with Meghan so incredibly quickly was a confirmation to me that all the stars were aligned, everything was perfect. This beautiful woman literally tripped and fell into my life, and I fell into her life.”
ON KEEPING THEIR RELATIONSHIP UNDER WRAPS
Harry: “We’ve had to reverse the whole process, cozy nights in in front of the television, cooking dinner, by ourselves in our little cottage, rather than going out to dinner and being seen in public… [It] provided different opportunities, and it’s made us a hell of a lot closer in a shorter space of time. That’s without question. If anybody else at home is listening, maybe slow down the dates and maybe spend more time at home.”
Meghan: “We were able to get to know each other that way. Just to take the time to be able to go on long country walks and just talk.”
ON THE REALITIES OF JOINING THE ROYAL FAMILY
Harry: “I know that I’m in love with this girl and I hope that she’s in love with me. But we still had to sit down on the sofa and have some pretty frank conversations with her to say, ‘What you’re letting yourself in for, it’s a big deal. It’s not easy for anybody.’ I know that at the end of the day, she chooses me, and I choose her. And therefore, whatever we have to tackle together, or individually, it’ll always be us together as a team.”
ON MEETING THE QUEEN
Meghan: “It’s incredible. I think… to be able to meet her through his lens, not just with his honour and respect for her as the monarch, but the love that he has for her as his grandmother. All of those layers have been so important for me. When I met her, I had such a deep understanding and of course incredible respect for being able to have that time with her. She’s an incredible woman.”
Harry: “And the corgis took to you straight away. In the last 33 years, I’ve been barked at. This one walks in, absolutely nothing. Just wagging tails.”
ON DESIGNING THE RING
Harry: “The ring is obviously yellow gold because that’s her favourite. The main stone itself I sourced from Botswana. The little diamonds on the side are from my mother’s jewellery collection to make sure she’s with us on this crazy journey together.”
ON DIANA’S LINK TO THE RING
Meghan: “I think everything about Harry’s thoughtfulness and the inclusion of that, obviously not being able to meet his mom, it’s so important to me to know that she’s part of this with us.”
ON MEGHAN AND DIANA
Harry: “I think they’d be thick as thieves. She would be over the moon, jumping up and down, so excited for me. But then, as I said, would have been best friends with Meghan. It’s days like today when I really miss having her around and miss being able to share the happy news. With the ring, I’m sure she’s with us, jumping up and down somewhere else.”
