As 2026 is dubbed 'the new 2016', inside the year Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's lives changed forever
Their love story started in 2016The ‘2026 is the new 2016’ trend has gathered tremendous traction on social media recently, and 2016 was certainly a big year for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.
In case you didn’t know, the viral trend has seen a swarm of people share throwback snaps from 2016 and revive old fashion choices, music and dance crazes from that time.
But while normal folk were posing with the Snapchat dog filter and rocking chokers in 2016, for Harry and Meghan, it was the year that changed their lives….
July 2016: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle meet
Back in July 2016, Harry and Meghan first connected online thanks to a mutual pal. And it turns out it was a Snapchat photo of Meghan using the iconic dog filter that caught Harry’s eye….
“Meghan and I met over Instagram,” Harry explained on the first episode of their Netflix series, Harry & Meghan. He went on: “I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had a video of the two of them, like a Snapchat. With dog ears. That was the first thing. I was like, ‘Who is that?'”
Their mutual pal then reached out to Meghan, in an attempt to set them up, informing her that Harry was keen to meet her. However, Meghan replied: “Who is Prince Haz?????” before asking to see his social media feed.
Meghan, who now shares two children with Harry, added: “I went through and it was all this beautiful photography, all these environmental shots. Time he was spending in Africa.”
The pair exchanged direct messages and went on to have their first date on July 3, 2016 at Soho House at 76 Dean Street.
Harry and Meghan’s first date
In his memoir, Spare, Harry revealed that their first date didn’t exactly go to plan. He recalled: “Red-cheeked, puffing, sweaty, half an hour late, I ran into the restaurant, into the quiet room, and found her sitting at a small area on a low velvet sofa in front of a low coffee table.”
Gushing over meeting Meghan for the first time, Harry said: “I’d seen so many photos of her from fashion shoots and TV sets, all glam and glossy, but here she was, in the flesh, no frills, no filter… and even more beautiful.
“Heart-attack beautiful. I was trying to process this, struggling to understand what was happening to my circulatory and nervous systems, and as a result my brain couldn’t handle any more data. Conversation, pleasantries, the Queen’s English, all became a challenge.”
August 2016: Meghan and Harry’s trip
Following their first date, Harry and Meghan’s connection blossomed into romance while on a trip to Botswana in August.
“It was three, maybe four, weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come join me in Botswana, and we camped out with each other, under the stars,” Harry recalled during their engagement interview with the BBC in 2017.
He added: “She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic. 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.”
On their Netflix series, Meghan recalled their romantic African trip. She said: “So I get there, this is the first time I’ve seen him in a month. Very awkward at first like, oh God, do we, do we kiss? Do we? And I just remember he handed me a chicken sandwich!”
Harry added: “We had to get to know each other before the rest of the world, before the media sort of, you know, joined it.”
November 2016: Palace confirms relationship
The pair kept their romance under wraps for a few months before going public. But Meghan actually spilled the details about their relationship to a friend first.
In New York in September 2016, she dropped the news about Harry while out with friend Abigail Spencer.
“She was like I think I met someone and I’m in love. It’s Prince Harry,” Abigail revealed.
She added: “I could feel everything vibrating. I was screaming because I could feel it was different.”
In November 2016 though, the press caught wind of Harry and Meghan’s romance, forcing Kensington Palace to release a statement on social media confirming Harry and Meghan’s relationship.
Since then, the couple’s relationship has only blossomed. They married in May 2018 and have welcomed two children, son Prince Archie, six, and daughter Princess Lilibet, four.
What do you think of this story? Leave us a comment on our Facebook page.
