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Love -

Despite everything they've been through together, Harry and Meghan do still seem very much in love with each other.

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Blind date -

The couple met on a blind date, set up by a mutual friend, and had immediate chemistry.

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Africa -

A few weeks after meeting, they traveled to Botswana to get to know each other better. It was there that their love was able to grow.

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'Suits' -

Harry admitted to never having watched 'Suits' before meeting his wife-to-be. In turn, Meghan barely had a notion of the role or function of the British monarchy.

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Scrutiny -

The couple managed to keep their courtship a secret for about six months. However, press scrutiny prompted the Prince to finally admit he was head-over-heels! 

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Private lives -

It was at this point that press tried to dig up every single detail of the actress' previous life. The tabloids had a field day!

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Worries -

It wouldn't be long before Harry began to express serious concern for Meghan's safety, calling out negative press coverage of his wife-to-be as unfair, especially that early on.

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Dirty laundry -

Then there were the salacious "revelations" by Markle's biological father and half-sister in the press. Yet, the couple remained unfazed, strengthened by their love that seemed to be growing ever stronger.

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It's serious -

And if there remained any doubt about her genuine love for the Prince, Meghan gave up her successful role on 'Suits' and moved to London from Toronto.

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Engagement -

On November 27, 2017, the couple made it official: they were engaged!

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Official events -

From then on, they would rarely leave each other's side, and Markle joined her hubby-to-be on official events to get a feel for the role.

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Wedding -

As the world looked on in admiration, the two were married on May 19, 2018, at Windsor Castle in a romantic star-studded wedding.

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Statement -

Meghan's father Thomas Markle Sr. was unable to attend and walk his daughter down the aisle. A staged photo shoot scandal and health issues prompted him to stay away, and it would be Harry's father Prince Charles that would walk Meghan down the aisle.

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Partners -

After the wedding, Meghan visibly grew into her role as Harry's spouse. She attended all official events and in late 2018 they set out on a very successful royal tour of Australia and Oceania.

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Pregnancy -

October 2018 is also when the newlyweds announced that Meghan was pregnant. Yes, a new royal was on the way!

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Baby shower -

Meghan was given a surprise baby shower in New York. Among the guests were Serena Williams and Amal Clooney.

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Brothers -

During her pregnancy, the first rumors of a rift between Harry and William started to surface.

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Frogmore Cottage -

The couple moved to Frogmore Cottage and refurbished it for £2.4 million (nearly US$2.9 million) of taxpayer money.

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Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor -

On May 6, 2019, Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor was born. Meghan notably did not honor all of the royal traditions.

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Labor -

For instance, Archie wasn't delivered in the Lindo Wing at London's St Mary's Hospital, where all the royals were born. She also refused to pose in front of the cameras with the newborn after a few hours, instead deciding to wait a couple of days.

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Name -

They also chose a non-traditional name for their son, consciously omitting any honorary titles.

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Fulfillment -

In the summer of 2019, it started to be clear the two have a different, less traditional agenda in the way they want to fulfill their royal duties.

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Split -

When they decided to leave the Royal Foundation, their joint charity, in 2019 and let it be known they wanted to set up their own charity, rumors of a rift between the princes resurfaced.

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Confirmation -

Not long after, Harry seemed to confirm them. When asked about it, he said, "Look, we're brothers. We'll always be brothers. We're certainly on different paths at the moment but I will always be there for him and, as I know, he will always be there for me."

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Baptism -

The couple also decided that they wanted to keep the identity of Archie's godparents a secret after the baptism. This went directly against royal protocol.

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Vogue -

When it became known that Meghan was to act as a guest editor for the British edition of Vogue magazine, another media storm was drummed up. This too was very unconventional.

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Children -

In the issue of the fashion magazine in question, Harry said he and Meghan only intended to have two children because of the climate.

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Private jets -

The couple was heavily criticized for claiming to care about the environment, but also regularly traveling by private jet. According to Harry, the reason for this was the couple's safety.

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Harry's had it -

The negative press coverage prompted Harry to release a statement in which he admonishes the UK press for their treatment of his wife, comparing it to the way his mother Diana had been treated before her fatal car crash.

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Personal letter -

When several media outlets published some extremely personal letters from Meghan, the couple took legal action. 

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Interview -

The couple offered an intimate look at their lives in the documentary 'Harry & Meghan: An African Journey.' In it, they also had a shocking revelation.

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Difficulties -

Meghan wasn't doing well. "I never thought that this would be easy, but I thought it would be fair, and that’s the part that's really hard to reconcile," Meghan said. When she first met Prince Harry, her friends had told her "the British tabloids will destroy your life." She said she didn't get it at the time, but that it had been hard.

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Nobody -

She also complained about never being asked how she was as a brand new mother.

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Christmas -

Things went from bad to worse when the couple announced they wouldn't be celebrating Christmas in England, but rather in Canada.

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Revelation -

Then in early 2020, they dropped a bombshell. They would be taking a "step back" from royal duties and wanted to divide their time between North America and the UK.

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Megxit -

In February, the deeply controversial split from the British royal house started to look more like a blood feud, with the Queen announcing the couple would not be allowed to use their royal title in any commercial ventures. In March, the couple fulfilled their final royal duties.

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Moving house -

Prince Harry left the UK to be with Markle in a Canadian island hideaway in British Columbia (pictured), but after a short, chilly time there, they moved to sunny California in March, where they bought a mansion in Santa Barbara worth US$14.7 million.

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Some well-deserved privacy -

After years of attacks from the British media, the pair cut ties with UK tabloids. As you can see, it’s much harder for the paparazzi to reach them now in Montecito.

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Keeping up with charity -

Days after their resignation became final in April, the couple announced their new Archewell charity foundation. In October, they officially launched the charity, which will focus on gender equality, female empowerment, and conservation.

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Hard times fell -

Markle opened up later in the year about a miscarriage she had suffered in July, which had rocked their young family. They had just previously celebrated Archie’s first birthday in May.

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Legal battle -

In April, Markle sued Associated Newspapers, publisher of The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for their publication of a private letter and private texts she sent to her estranged father ahead of her 2018 wedding. In October, she won her bid to have her court case delayed until September 2021.

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Starting their new careers -

In June, the Sussexes embarked on their new careers in California by signing with Harry Walker Agency, a speaking agency which also represents the Obamas, the Clintons, and Oprah Winfrey.

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‘Finding Freedom’ - Though they escaped the tabloids, the controversial royal tell-all, ‘Finding Freedom,’ by royal journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, still caused a stir in 2020 with its intimate revelations of their life back in the UK.

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Netflix deal -

In September, the pair made their next major career move by signing a US$100 million deal with Netflix to create “content that informs but also gives hope.” With that money, they immediately paid back the few million they owed for the renovation of their former home at Frogmore Cottage.

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Spotify deal -

In December, the pair also signed a multi-year deal with Spotify to produce and host podcasts in partnership with their production company, Archewell Audio, which is also the name of their podcast. The podcast promises to bring A-list guests and different perspectives, and their first episode featured Tyler Perry, James Corden, and Elton John.

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The Oprah interview -

In an explosive interview in 2021, Harry and Meghan sat down with Oprah Winfrey and opened up about their experiences as members of the royal family with unprecedented honesty. Markle revealed that she had been pushed to the brink of suicide and was not given adequate support.

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The Oprah interview -

Prince Harry shared that he feels he was brainwashed and was lucky to escape, particularly as his father and brother are trapped by their roles as heirs to the throne. There were also allegations of racism, as the couple claimed there were discussions about how "dark" their son Archie would be when he was born.  

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The future for the royal couple -

The tension between the couple and the rest of the royal family was obvious for quite some time after their departure, but it's heart-warming to see that they're still on good terms with the Queen. This was made obvious when they gave their new baby the name Lilibet, the family nickname given to Queen Elizabeth. They also returned to England to attend her Platinum Jubilee celebrations in June 2022, giving Prince Charles the first opportunity to meet his granddaughter. 

See also: Prepare yourself for lots of British royal cuteness

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