"The stars aligned when I met Meghan": Prince Harry and his girlfriend's first interview after announcing their engagement
They fell in love "unbelievably fast", which seemed to them proof that the "stars were aligned."
This is what Prince Harry of England and his girlfriend, American actress Meghan Markle, explained on Monday after announcing their engagement. The royal wedding is scheduled for next European spring.
The couple gave an exclusive interview to the BBC in which they said that they met on a blind date and that neither of them knew much about the other.
She also confessed that she believes her fiancee and late mother, Princess Diana, would have been "best friends."
"Amazing surprise"
Prince Harry revealed that she proposed to Megan earlier this month during a "normal and typical evening for us" at her home in Kensington Palace while the couple prepared rotisserie chicken.
"It was an incredible surprise. It was very sweet, natural and very romantic. She got down on her knees," Markle explained.
"She didn't even let me finish. And she said, 'Can I say yes now?" Harry recounted.
"Then there were hugs and I had the ring on my finger, so I said, 'Can I give you the ring?'
"Oh yeah, the ring, 'she said. It was a really nice moment. Just the two of us," the prince described.
And looking at Markle, Prince Harry said, "And I think I managed to take you by surprise too."
Camp in Botswana
The actress of the American television series Suits confirmed that she will give up her artistic career and focus more on the causes that are important to her.
Meghan, 36, is involved in humanitarian work and collaborates with the UN in the defense of women's rights.
"I don't think I'm giving up anything. I see it as a change. It's a new chapter," Markle said.
"Now is the time to work as a team," she said looking at Harry.
"I know she will also be incredibly good at work," said the 33-year-old prince.
The couple recounted that a mutual friend set up a blind date in 2016.
Markle said she "didn't know much" about Prince Harry before meeting him.
"The only thing I asked my friend when she said she wanted to introduce us was, 'Is it nice?' If it isn't, it doesn't make sense. "
The prince also said that he did not know Markle before their first meeting in London, as he had never seen her television show.
Two dates later they went camping together in Botswana.
"We camped together under the stars, it was absolutely fantastic," said Harry.
The prince stated: "We both have passions for wanting to make a change for the better."
While she added: "One of the first things we started talking about when we met was the different things we wanted to do in the world and how passionate we were to see change."
Meghan said it was "discouraging" that press attention was focused on the fact that her father is white and her mother is African American.
"In the end, I am proud of who I am and where I come from ... we have focused on who we are as a couple," she said.
Before giving the interview to the BBC, Harry and Meghan greeted journalists and photographers in the gardens of Kensington Palace in London.
Asked by a reporter as to when he learned that the Suits star "was the one," Prince Harry said: "From the first time we met."
A special ring
Markle's engagement ring was designed by Prince Harry himself and features two diamonds that belonged to his mother.
The band is made of yellow gold with a Botswana diamond in the center.
Markle said that all those symbols were a sign of "Harry's consideration."
It is "so important to me ... to know that he is part of this with us," Meghan said of Diana, Harry's mother.
The actress claimed that she met the Queen a couple of times and described her as an "amazing woman."
They also explained that for now they do not think about having children although they do not rule it out "in the near future."
Markle grew up in Los Angeles, California, (USA) and attended a private elementary school before studying at a Roman Catholic girls' school.
She graduated from Northwestern University College of Communication in Illinois while beginning her acting career.
