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When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped out to announce their engagement, the look of bliss on their faces was something of that only seen in the movies.
Here, a former bad-boy-turned-humanitarian-Prince was (finally) ready to settle down with his future Princess in a modern-day fairytale romance that has captivated the hearts of millions worldwide.
Harry and Markle’s romance might have unconventionally redefined the future of our preconceived relationship expectations, but if there’s one thing we’ve learned it’s that finding long-lasting love on a blind date, in a bar or even at university isn’t as rare as we once thought.
So, just how do princes and princesses meet their matches? We’ve delved deep into the enchanting encounters of how your favourite royal couples first met, and it’s nothing but pure love.
Prince William and Kate Middleton
You’ve all heard the story of boy meets girl. Girl becomes the future Queen of England, maybe not so much. Like many couples, Kate Middleton and Prince William started off as two star-crossed lovers at university years before eventually tying the knot in 2011. Both attended the University of St. Andrews in Scotland where they began officially dating in 2003 despite unconfirmed relationship rumours. The couple briefly split in 2007 but reconciled after a few months. Fast forward a decade and they’re now happily married with three adorable children.
Prince Frederik and Princess Mary Of Denmark
Prince Frederik and Princess Mary’s love story began like any other romance: in a bar. The pair crossed paths in Sydney’s CBD at the Slip Inn during the 2000 Olympics. Prince Frederik recalls immediately knowing that he had met ‘the one’. And as for Mary? She had no idea who he was. The couple officially confirmed their relationship in 2001 and then went on to wed in May 2004.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first laid eyes on each other on a blind date in early July, 2016. “We were introduced actually by a mutual friend,” Harry revealed during the couple’s first sit-down interview with the BBC following their engagement announcement. There has been vast speculation about who is responsible for setting up the pair as E! News has claimed Harry’s friend Violet von Westernholz is the one who introduced the pair, however, others have speculated it was fashion designer Mischa Nonoo. Whoever it be was onto a good thing as the two will tie the knot in what will be the most highly anticipated wedding of the year.
Prince Charles and Princess Diana
The love story of Prince Charles and Princess Diana is one known to the masses. Diana might have only been 19 when she was engaged however she was much younger when she was first introduced to the Prince. Prince Charles dated Diana’s sister, Sarah Spencer, in 1977 which was how he met Diana (who was 16 years old at the time). Diana recounted her initial encounter with Charles during a TV interview following her 1981 engagement. “It was 1977, Charles came to stay. He was a friend of my sister Sarah’s. [He came] for a [hunting] shoot. We sort of met in a plowed field,” she said. Their relationship progressed quickly soon after and the rest was history.
King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia of Spain
The softly spoken Spanish prince fell hard for beautiful Letizia Ortiz Rocasolano when he met her at a colleague’s dinner party in 2002. Letizia was already a household name in Spain thanks to her career as an award-winning journalist and news anchor. It was destiny as the two met again when Letizia was reporting on an oil spillage incident in the since Letizia was already divorced.
Prince Albert II and Princess Charlene of Monaco
The Rhodesian-born beauty met Prince Albert at the Mare Nostrum swimming competition (Charlotte was an Olympic swimmer for South Africa) in Monte Carlo in 2000. They were first seen together in 2006. The wedding between Albert II, Prince of Monaco, and Charlene Wittstock took place on 1 and 2 July 2011 at the Prince’s Palace of Monaco. It has been described as Monaco’s “biggest party in 55 years”; in other words, the biggest since the wedding of Albert’s parents, Prince Rainier III and Grace Kelly.
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie of Denmark
Prince Joachim and Princess Marie met while Joachim was still married to his first wife, Countess Alexandra. They were invited to a dinner and as they were the only two French-speaking people invited, it was only natural that they hit it off. Yet their romance only blossomed after he divorced Countess Alexandra in 2003. It was then in 2005 that they were spotted spending a lot of time together during their holidays in France before marrying in 2008.
Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank
On January 2nd of this year, Buckingham Palace announced the second royal wedding to take place this year: Princess Eugenie is set to marry her boyfriend of seven years on Friday 12 October, 2018. The couple actually met during a ski trip in Verbier, Switzerland, when Eugenie was 20 and Jack was 24, and in a televised interview Eugenie said it was “love at first sight.”
Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden
Undoubtedly one of the most stylish royal couples of our time, Carl first spotted Sofia during a lunch with mutual friends, as you do. After being introduced to one another, the couple admits they were shy at first, but Sofia called their encounter “love at first sight.” The couple began dating in 2009, tying the knot in 2015. They welcomed their first son, Prince Alexander, in April 2016.
Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden
Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel fell in love after meeting at a training session (yes, he was a personal trainer) at the then Daniel Westling’s fitness centre in the mid-2000s. He also was a gym owner and ran a company called Balance Training with three gyms in Stockholm.
King Abdullah II and Queen Rania of Jordan
In 1992, Queen Rania worked at Apple Computers in Amman. She and a coworker were invited to a dinner party hosted by Princess Aisha, the King’s sister, and that’s where she met King Abdullah. “We spoke only briefly at the dinner, but I was struck by how poised, elegant, and intelligent she was,” King Abdullah later wrote in his book, Our Last Best Chance: The Pursuit of Peace in a Time of Peril. “I was smitten and knew I had to see her again.” Five months later, the young couple were married.
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