Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Complete Relationship Timeline

Long before she was a royal, Meghan Markle was asked in an interview whether she would date Prince William or Prince Harry, to which she offhandedly replied, "Harry, sure." Now, the two are happily married with three kids.

Their love story began with a blind date in 2016 and peaked with a royal wedding in 2018. But in 2020, following waves of British-tabloid harassment, the Duke and Duchess of Sussexes made the decision to live their lives outside of the monarchy. Since then, the two have launched their own careers and projects—Meghan an award-winning podcast, and Harry a tell-all memoir, Spare.

Ahead, see all the highlights from the pair's relationship through the years.

March 4, 2023: Harry says Meghan "saved" him.

In a livestream conversation with Dr. Gabor Maté, author of The Myth of Normal: Trauma, Illness, and Healing in a Toxic Culture, the prince opens up about the way Meghan changed his life and helped "save" him from himself during a time where he felt "stuck" within the royal institution.

"My wife saved me. I was stuck in this world, and she was from a different world and helped draw me out of that," Harry says. "But none of the elements of my life now would have been possible without me seeing it for myself."

"My partner is an exceptional human being," he continues, "and I'm eternally grateful for the wisdom and the space that she has been able to give me."

January 2023: Harry releases his memoir, Spare.

In his much-awaited book, the prince reveals one shocking personal truth after another—including the way he lost his virginity, the day he re-created his mother's last moments, and the brutal physical fight he had with his brother, Prince William. He also writes a lot about his wife, reflecting on her relationship with Wills and Princess Kate, giving details about their life together in England, recalling Meghan's mental health battle, and speaking of the moment they knew they had to step away from the royal family.

December 2022: They release their documentary, Harry & Meghan.

The royal pair drop their Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan, which offers intimate glimpses into their relationship in its beginning stages, their life and struggles in the royal family, and their current lifestyle now.

October 19, 2022: Meghan opens up her and Harry's life at home.

In a rare video interview with Variety, Meghan shares new details surrounding her quiet home life in Montecito with Harry, which involves working collaboratively on their projects and raising their two kids, Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1—a packed routine Meghan calls a "true blessing."

"We share an office. We work from home, as most people started to do during lockdown," Meghan says. "It allows us to have significant time with our kids at this really special moment in their lives. We'll never get this time back."

She adds that on a normal day, "I make breakfast, and we get the kids set for the day. We do a lot of joint calls and Zooms, but also try to divide what we can focus our energies on so we can accomplish even more."

September 10, 2022: They reunite with the royals at Queen Elizabeth II's funeral.

Harry and Meghan return to the United Kingdom to pay their respects to Queen Elizabeth II, who passed away on September 8 at Balmoral Castle. The two are photographed with William and Kate, who share newly minted titles as Prince and Princess of Wales.

October 23, 2021: They release Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.

The two release their documentary Harry & Meghan: An African Journey, which gives a glimpse into their royal tour in South Africa. The project reveals a first glimpse of baby Archie, as well as details on the intense media scrutiny and rumored royal rifts the Sussexes have faced.

In one interview, Meghan gets candid for the first time about the extent of her struggles within the royal family and reflects on her naiveté surrounding what she thought it would be like living in the spotlight as an American-born royal.

"In all fairness I had no idea, which probably sounds difficult to understand and hear," Meghan says. "But when I first met my now-husband, my friends were really happy because I was so happy, but my British friends said to me, 'I’m sure he’s great but you shouldn’t do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life.'"

She continues, "And I very naively—I’m American, we don’t have that there—[I said], 'What are you talking about? That doesn’t make any sense. I’m not in any tabloids.' I didn’t get it. So it’s been, yeah, it’s been complicated."

June 4, 2021: Princess Lilibet is born.

Meghan and Harry welcome their second child, Princess Lilibet of Sussex, at Santa Barbara Cottage Hospital in California. Their newborn daughter's name, "Lilibet Diana", takes after the pet name of great grandmother Queen Elizabeth, and honors her maternal grandmother, the late Princess Diana.

May 21, 2021: Harry discusses Meghan's mental health struggles.

In an episode of The Me You Can't See, Harry's Apple TV series dedicated to de-stigmatizing mental health, the prince gets candid about the devastating toll royal life has had on Meghan, and recalls his concern at her suicidal thoughts.

"Meghan decided to share with me the suicidal thoughts and the practicalities of how she was going to end her life," explains the Duke of Sussex. "The scariest thing for her was her clarity of thought. She hadn't lost it. She wasn't crazy. She wasn't self-medicating, be it through pills or through alcohol. She was absolutely sober. She was completely sane.

Harry continues,"The thing that stopped her from seeing it through was how unfair it would be to me after everything that happened to my mum and to now be put in the position of losing another woman in my life with a baby inside of her, our baby."

March 7, 2021: They break their silence on their royal leave in a tell-all interview with Oprah Winfrey.

Following months spent away from the limelight after leaving the royal family, the two make an official public reappearance in a bombshell interview on Oprah Winfrey's Emmy-nominated television special, Oprah with Meghan and Harry. During the talk, they reveal unnerving new details surrounding the extent of their traumatic experiences with the royal family—from the overt racism Meghan experienced from unspecified royal members, to the ongoing harassment and slander against the pair by the British tabloids.

In a heartbreaking part of the interview, the duchess confesses that around six months into her first pregnancy, during the height of royal tensions, she was suffering so much that she "didn't want to be alive anymore."

"I thought my family would help, but every single ask, request, warning, whatever, it just got met with total silence, total neglect," Harry later adds. "We spent four years trying to make it work. We did everything that we possibly could to stay there and carry on doing the role and doing the job. But Meghan was struggling."

January 8, 2020: They announce their royal exit.

Following months of tabloid attacks on Meghan—and ongoing rumors surrounding the Sussexes' rising tensions with the rest of the royal family—the duke and duchess finally announce in an official joint statement shared to their Instagram page that they have decided to step down as senior members of the royal family.

"After many months of reflection and internal discussions, we have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution," their message reads. "We intend to step back as ‘senior’ members of the Royal Family and work to become financially independent, while continuing to fully support Her Majesty The Queen."

They continue, "It is with your encouragement, particularly over the last few years, that we feel prepared to make this adjustment. We now plan to balance our time between the United Kingdom and North America, continuing to honour our duty to The Queen, the Commonwealth, and our patronages. This geographic balance will enable us to raise our son with an appreciation for the royal tradition into which he was born, while also providing our family with the space to focus on the next chapter, including the launch of our new charitable entity."

In the months following Harry and Meghan's royal exit, the pair spend time in both Canada and the United States. They have since moved permanently to California.

May 6, 2019: Archie Mountbatten-Windsor is born.

The two welcome their first royal child together, Prince Archie of Sussex.

In his first television interview fresh off the birth, Harry says elatedly, "I'm so incredibly proud of my wife. As every father and parent would ever say, your baby is absolutely amazing. But this little thing is absolutely to die for. So I'm just over the moon."

December 25, 2018: They spend the holidays with William and Kate.

Harry and Meghan spend their first Christmas as a royal pair with the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, Prince William and Catherine Middleton.

July 10, 2018: The Sussexes and Cambridges make their first major appearance.

In their first major royal event as royal newlyweds, the Sussexes and get together with William and Kate to honor the Centenary of the RAF at Buckingham Palace, where they observe a flypast for the occasion.

May 19, 2018: They get married.

Harry and Meghan marry at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, in a star-studded ceremony that becomes the most-watched royal wedding in the world.

On this day, Meghan is officially granted her royal title at the occasion: Meghan, Duchess of Sussex.

Notable attendees at the wedding include Serena Williams, George Clooney, and James Corden, as well as several of Meghan's Suits co-stars: Patrick J. Adams (Mike Ross), Gabriel Macht (Harvey Specter), and Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen). Idris Elba, a longtime friend of Harry's, is also in attendance, and deejays at the reception, where upon Meghan's request, he plays Whitney Houston's "I Want to Dance with Somebody," during the new royal's first dance with Harry.

February 28, 2018: They appear with the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge.

The fiancés appear publicly for the first time with Prince William and Kate Middleton—who are then expecting their third royal child, Prince Louis—at the first annual Royal Foundation Forum held at Aviva.

November 27, 2017: They get engaged.

Kensington Palace announces that the pair have officially gotten engaged following about a year of dating.

Meghan's parents, Thomas Markle and Doria Ragland, express their congratulations in a public statement shared by the palace on Twitter. "We are incredibly happy for Meghan and Harry," they write in the statement. "Our daughter has always been a kind and loving person. To see her union with Harry, who shares the same qualities, is a source of great joy for us as parents. We wish them a lifetime of happiness and are very excited for their future together."

The Prince and Princess of Wales additionally offer their congratulations to the new fiancés. "We are very excited for Harry and Meghan," the then-Duke and Duchess of Cambridge say of the engagement, per their Twitter. "It has been wonderful getting to know Meghan and to see how happy she and Harry are together."

Following the confirmation from Kensington Palace, the newly engaged couple make an appearance on BBC for their first-ever joint interview, where they divulge fresh details surrounding their relationship—including how they first met and how they've been looking ahead to their future royal roles.

At this time, Meghan expresses her excitement over what's in store for her as a soon-to-be duchess, and says how she plans to utilize her new platform.

"You realize, once you have access or a voice that people are willing to listen to, with that comes a lot of responsibility, which I take seriously," Meghan says. "At the same time, I think in these beginning few months, and now being boots on the ground in the U.K, I'm excited to just really get to know more about the different communities here, smaller organizations who are working on the same causes that I've always been passionate about under this umbrella, and also being able to go around to the Commonwealth."

"I think it's just the beginning of a—," she continues, at which point Harry chimes in to say, "There's a lot to do."

September 2017: They meet each other's family members.

The pair make an affectionate joint appearance in Toronto for the Invictus Games—which Harry also hosts—where they are joined by Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland.

Later in the month, Us Weekly reports that Meghan has been introduced to Harry's grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II.

September 5, 2017: Meghan publicly acknowledges her relationship for the first time.

Meghan discusses her relationship with Harry during a cover interview with Vanity Fair.

"We're in love," she tells the magazine. "I'm sure there will be a time when we will have to come forward and present ourselves and have stories to tell, but I hope what people will understand is that this is our time. This is for us. It's part of what makes it so special, that it's just ours. But we're happy. Personally, I love a great love story."

She also gets candid about the relationship's accompanying challenges. "It comes in waves," she says, "some days it can feel more challenging than others."

She adds, "Right out of the gate it was surprising the way things changed. But I still have this support system all around me, and, of course, my boyfriend's support."

May 6, 2017: They attend their first public event together.

The two are captured sharing a kiss during a polo event in Ascot, Scotland, in what marks their first public appearance together as a couple.

November 8, 2016: Their relationship is Kensington-confirmed.

Following romance rumors that began the previous month, Kensington Palace releases a statement on social media confirming Harry and Meghan's relationship. In a reprimanding address, the palace implores the public to stop their ongoing harassments against Prince Harry and "his girlfriend, Meghan Markle."

"Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her," the note reads. "It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm."

A month later, in December, the two are photographed together for the first time, followed by another sweet outing in London around the holidays.

August 2016: They take a trip to Africa.

Following their electric first date, Harry and Meghan take a three-week trip to Botswana, where they celebrate Meghan's 36th birthday and their romantic connection blossoms.

"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 recalls of the romantic trip during their post-engagement BBC interview. "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."

Three months later, the prince gets down on one knee, proposing to her with an engagement ring featuring an African stone, as well as two smaller diamonds from one of Princess Diana's brooches.

The following summer, Meghan and Harry return to Botswana to celebrate their first anniversary, per Vanity Fair.

July 2016: They meet through a mutual friend.

The prince and Suits actress first connect online through a mutual friend. Harry later reveals in the first episode of Harry & Meghan that a Snapchat photo of their friend and Meghan using the dog filter piqued his interest and prompted him to reach out to ask who Meghan was.

"Meghan and I met over Instagram. I was scrolling through my feed and someone who was a friend had a video of the two of them, like a Snapchat," Harry explains. "With dog ears. That was the first thing. I was like, who is that?"

Following Direct Messages exchanges over Instagram, the two go out on a blind date in London, while Meghan is in town for Wimbledon—and Harry shows up late. "You were late," Meghan points out to Harry, adding, "And I didn’t know him. So I was like, 'Oh, is this what he does?'"

The quick date eventually leads to sparks, and in light of their long-distance circumstances, the two set a schedule to see each other every several weeks.

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