Prince Harry was left cursing himself after he was late for his first date with Meghan Markle thanks to his prior commitments, as he detailed in his memoir Spare

Prince Harry has opened up about the unfortunate error he made during his first ever date with Meghan Markle.

The Duke of Sussex first connected with his future wife after becoming captivated by her image on a mutual friend’s Instagram. They quickly struck up a conversation which lasted for hours, leading to a date at Soho House in London the following night.

Although a traffic jam made Harry late, their chemistry was undeniable. Harry reflected on their instant connection with enthusiasm in his memoir. Spare.

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He wrote: “We’d each had first dates on which there was nothing to talk about, and now we both felt that special thrill when there’s too much to talk about, when there isn’t enough time to say all that needs to be said.”

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry instantly connected (Image:Getty)

Harry remembered the moment they had to end their date with a hint of sorrow, saying: “If I hadn’t been late, we’d have had more time. I cursed myself, got to my feet. A brief goodbye hug.”

Lamenting on the fleeting nature of their parting, he added: “Poof, she was gone. Compared to her, Cinderella was the queen of long goodbyes.”

As their romance blossomed, Harry invited Meghan to Botswana  a decision he described in their engagement interview: “We camped out with each other under the stars.

“She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic. So then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure that we had a chance to get to know each other.”

During the trip, Harry came to the realization that Meghan was his “soulmate.” The couple later opened up about the journey in their docuseries, sharing that it happened after they had only met twice.

Recalling the moment, Harry expressed his surprise: “I was astonished that she said, ‘Yes’,” noting how Meghan agreed to join him in Botswana for an intimate getaway. “This woman, that I’ve really met twice, she’s coming to Botswana, and we’re gonna be living in a tent for five days,” he said.

Before their romance hit the headlines, the pair managed to sneak out for a Halloween party in 2016, which was their last appearance before going public with their relationship. Meghan reminisced about that night during a chat with Ellen DeGeneres in 2021, saying: “He came to see me in Toronto and our friends and his cousin, Eugenie, and her husband Jack, they came as well, and the four of us snuck out in Halloween costumes to have one fun night on the town before it was out in the world that we were a couple.”

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