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Privacy NoticePrince Harry and Meghan Markle have been happily married for over six years, but there was one hurdle they had to clear first. Before popping the question to Meghan, Harry had to seek permission from his late grandmother due to a longstanding royal tradition. The rule states that the first six individuals in line to the throne must obtain the monarch’s approval before getting engaged. When Harry knew he was ready to take the next step with Meghan, he approached the late Queen for her blessing before offering the former actress her engagement ring. In his memoir Spare, he recounts the moment he gathered the courage to discuss the matter with his granny – and her ‘cryptic’ nine-word reply.
Harry sought permission from the Queen to marry Meghan
(Image: Getty Images)
In his book, Harry reveals that he chose to wait until the family were on a shooting trip in Sandringham to bring up the topic, hoping it would put the late Queen in a ‘good mood’. Once the shoot was over, Harry managed to get some alone time with his grandmother, confessing that his thoughts were racing. He remembers his exact words in Spare, expressing to his grandmother how deeply he loved Meghan and his desire to marry her. According to the book, he then awkwardly asked: “I’ve been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose”. He says the Queen then replied: “You have to?” to which Harry replied that is what he had been told. He then details a moment of silence before the Queen replied and told him: “Well then, I suppose I have to say yes.” Harry admits he was completely thrown by her answer.
Prince Harry had to ask his grandmother’s permission
(Image: AP)
He writes: “I didn’t get it. Was she being sarcastic? Ironic? Deliberately cryptic? Was she indulging in a bit of wordplay? I’d never known Granny to do any wordplay and this would be a surpassingly bizarre moment (not to mention widely inconvenient) for her to start, but maybe she just saw the chance to play off my unfortunate use of the word ‘have’ and couldn’t resist” The prince describes himself as a ‘muppet’ standing there flummoxed but then realised she was indeed giving her blessing, telling him it was ‘fabulous’. Harry goes on about how he created Meghan’s engagement ring using two diamonds from his mother Diana’s jewellery and one from Botswana. The proposal took place on a quiet evening at their Kensington Palace residence. The couple had a low-key dinner, roasting a chicken, before stepping outside to enjoy the night sky by candlelight. However, Harry’s choice of champagne for the ordinary weekday dinner almost gave away his plan. In their Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan, the prince recounted: “I did pop a bottle of champagne while she was roasting a chicken and that kind of slightly gave the game away. She was like, ‘You never drink champagne, what’s the occasion? ‘ And I was like, ‘I don’t know, I just had it like, lying around”. Sign up to OK!’s royal newsletter to get updates sent to your inbox for free
The couple became engaged in September 2017
(Image: 2017 Getty Images)
As he prepared the setting, Meghan made a call to a friend, barely containing her excitement. The recorded phone call captures her saying: “Oh my God Jess, Jess, it’s happening, it’s happening. He told me not to peek.” A romantic photo of the proposal, shared in the documentary, shows Harry on one knee, holding a ring box in one hand and their dog Guy’s collar in the other, with a bouquet of white roses on the floor before him. In their engagement interview, Harry recalled the moment: “She didn’t even let me finish. She said, ‘Can I say yes? Can I say yes? ‘ and then there were hugs and I had the ring in my hand and I was like, ‘Can I – can I give you the ring? ‘ She goes, ‘Oh yes the ring’. So no it was – it was a really nice moment, it was just the two of us and I think managed to catch – catch her by surprise as well.”Story SavedYou can find this story in  My Bookmarks.Or by navigating to the user icon in the top right.Follow OK! MagazineFacebookTwitterCommentMore OnMeghan MarklePrince HarryHarry and MeghanQueen Elizabeth II
