Prince Harry’s Promise to Meghan Markle During Botswana Trip

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s love story is straight out of a fairy tale. The couple first met when they were set up by mutual friends Misha Nonoo and Markus Anderson in May 2016, they got engaged a year later, tied the knot in May 2018, and welcomed their beautiful son Archie into the world in May 2019. And thanks to the recent release of Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand’s book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, we’ve been learning even more sweet tidbits about the Duke and Duchess of Sussex.

In fact, remember when Harry and Meghan posted a never-before-seen photo of their trip to Botswana on Instagram back in April 2019? Well, it turns out that August 2017 trip wasn’t just Meghan’s 36th birthday celebration, it was also where Harry promised to make Meghan his wife. While he didn’t exactly propose at the time, according to the authors, on the final day of their trip under “Botswana’s blanket of stars,” Harry made his intentions about wanting to marry Meghan “very clear” and they “felt more connected to each other than ever.” Given that Botswana holds a special place in Harry’s heart and it’s where “they had fallen in love a year earlier,” it makes sense that the prince chose the country to pledge his love to Meghan.

When Harry and Meghan returned to London shortly after, the duke stayed true to his word and popped the question while Meghan prepared dinner at their Nottingham Cottage. Harry also chose a diamond sourced from Botswana to include in Meghan’s engagement ring.

After being secretly engaged for a few months, Harry and Meghan finally announced the exciting news to the world in November 2017. “It was just an amazing surprise,” Meghan later gushed in their postengagement interview. “It was so sweet and natural and very romantic.” And the rest is history.

Image Source: Getty / Max Mumby / Indigo