Triumph Books - When Harry Met Meghan: A Royal Fairy Tale

Contents

Introduction: Love Actually

Were two people who are really happy and in love.

Meghan Markle to Vanity Fair

Rumors swirled. Tabloids were awash in false reports. And Britains prognosticators had the prospect of engagement as an odds-on favorite. Would Harry marry an American? Then finally, on November 27, 2017, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle confirmed what royal watchers the world round had been hoping for: they were engaged!

The impending nuptials of Harry and Meghan have set off royal wedding mania once more. (It was a scant seven years ago that Prince William and Kate Middleton had the world in their thrall.) Today, the newly engaged couples every decision has been pondered and celebrated by the waiting public: What will Meghans dress look like? Who will attend the wedding? What famous musician will perform? (Yes, bookies are taking bets on these things too.) The couples faces were immediately splashed on countless souvenir itemseverything from collectible dolls to china to tea towelsand those are the things that were whipped up by enterprising retailers in the 24 hours following the announcement! Now, Harry and Meghan mania is in full tilt.

Harry and Meghan greet the assembled crowd in Edinburgh on one of their first official royal appearances.

Like so many aspects of their unlikely love match, their road to romance was quite unconventional. While brother William and Kate had 10 years in the public eye before finally tying the knot, Harry and Meghan spent the first six months of their courtship away from media scrutiny, offering themselves a chance to build a solid foundation for their relationship outside the glare of the spotlight. In between intimate dinners at home and travel to some of the quietest corners of the earth, they fell for one another.

Once news of their relationship went public, Meghan became one of the most popularand controversialroyals-to-be overnight. Now, with the news of their marriage officially official, well-wishers everywhere have passed on their congratulations for the prince and his fiance. Their union is without a doubt a love match. They also symbolize a new generation of British royalty. In the words of royal historian Christopher Warwick, Its great that shes American. Its new blood. And this is really what monarchy has to have to remain relevant and move forward.

1. About a Boy

Behind the media glare, to us, two children, she was quite simply the best mother in the world.

Harry at 2007s Concert for Diana

Henry Charles Albert David Mountbatten-WindsorPrince Harrywas born on September 15, 1984, to Charles, Prince of Wales, and Diana, Princess of Wales. Heir apparent to his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, he was born third in line for the throne behind his father and older brother, William. (Today he is sixth in line for the throne behind Charles, William, and Williams three children.)

With the likelihood of becoming king a slim possibility, Harry was able to grow up with a freedom he may not have otherwise had. While he still came of age squarely in the public eye, he was able to test his boundaries and forge his own path in life in a way that his brother could not. That journey included a few very public missteps along the waybut those stumbles humanized him and only further endeared him to the public. (In fact, he has been voted Britains favorite royal in a YouGov poll for four years running.)

In raising their two boys, Charles and Diana were steadfast that the princes grow up with as normal a childhood as possible, given their circumstances. This meant breaking with some of the usual traditions of the ruling class. Instead of entrusting their early education to private tutors, for instance, they enrolled the boys at Jane Mynors nursery school in Notting Hill, Londonat the anything-but-princely sum of $850 a year. They went to Disney World, McDonalds, and other places that kids their age frequently visited.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana leave St. Marys Hospital with baby Harry.

Which isnt to say that the princes didnt enjoy privileges unattainable for most kids their age. Harry grew up splitting his time between two luxurious homes: in London at Kensington Palace, and weekends at the familys country estate, Highgrove. A royal residence for centuries, Kensington has been home to British royals for more than 400 years. King William III and Queen Mary II were its first residents. King George I and II both lived there, as did Queen Anne. And one of the greatest royal love stories in history was kindled there too, when future queen Victoria met Albert. In the 1960s, residents Princess Margaret and husband Anthony Armstrong-Jones were known for their wildly extravagant parties at the palace.

For Harry, living in Kensington Palace wasnt quite as fun as it had been for some of his predecessors. His parents both conducted their royal and charitable duties out of the home, which meant he and William frequently had to compete with secretaries and ministers and other assorted visitors for Charles and Dianas time. In their Kensington nursery, a world unto itself, the princes grew up with a giant household staff, including a seemingly revolving parade of nannies, servants, and Police Protection Officers, who sometimes felt more like companions than bodyguards.

While visiting firefighters with his mother and brother to pay tribute to those who served during the Blitz, a six-year-old Harry poses atop a World War II fire engine.

It was at times a lonely existence, being a kid in an adults world. Asked years later about his childhood, Harry made light of it. To be honest, dinner conversation was the worst bit about being a child, and listening to the boring people around me.

Things were quite different two hours west of London, and a world away, at Highgrove House. While Charles and Diana traveled there with their entire coterie of staff, it was a break from the comparative drudgery of London. Highgrove was a bastion of country living that Charles especially reveled in. He preferred the simple pleasures of his horses, long constitutionals, and solitude. A consummate outdoorsman, Charles taught the boys to shoot, fish, and hunt. He instilled in them a deep appreciation for nature, as well as sport. Harry and William spent most of their time at Highgrove outdoors, where they had the run of the expansive grounds, including the vast gardens, various barns and outbuildings, a swimming pool, and an elaborately constructed tree house. The boys kept pet rabbits, fish, and ponies, and played amongst the sheep and chickens and cows in the barnyard. It must have been heaven for the two young, spirited, and energetic boys.