The year was 2016 and the globe was in hysterics after it was revealed Prince Harry had found a girlfriend – and it was neither you nor me. At the time, Meghan Markle was (and still is) subjected to intense scrutiny by the British press. So how does one navigate a ‘normal’ date while in the public eye? Prince Harry appeared on Dax Shepard’s podcast, Armchair Expert, and reflected on an incognito supermarket date with the then-actress.
According to Harry, he met Markle at an undisclosed supermarket in London. He was of course disguised to elude the paparazzi.
“The first time Meghan and I met up for her to come and stay with me, we met up in a supermarket in London, pretending we didn’t know each other, so we’re texting each other from the other side of the aisles,” the Duke of Sussex revealed. “There’s people looking at me, giving me all these weird looks, and coming up to me and saying ‘hi.'”
“I texted her saying “is this the right one,” and she said, “no you want parchment paper,” and “I’m like where’s the parchment paper?!”
“It was nice, I had a baseball cap on, looking down at the floor, trying to stay incognito. It’s amazing how much chewing gum you see, it’s a mess!”
Following Harry’s proposal one year later, the Prince revealed his proposal was just as lowkey and involved a “standard typical night for us […] trying to roast a chicken,” per Grazia Daily UK.
It’s hard to imagine the years prior to the tabloid criticism, awful rumors, and subsequent ‘Megxit.’ Nowadays, the couple, their son Archie, and unborn daughter reside in the US. Early this month, it was announced Markle has authored a children’s novel while Prince Harry’s joint Apple TV+ project with Oprah Winfrey, The Me You Can’t See, will make its debut on the streaming platform in late-May.
