Why July 4th Holds Special Meaning for Meghan Markle and Prince Harry

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's Romance Was Sparked Around the Fourth of July Prince Harry reflected on his life journey in Spare, his groundbreaking memoir released in January 2023. Part 3 of the book begins with the story of how he first encountered Meghan after seeing her photo while scrolling through Instagram during the summer of 2016. Meghan had made a playful Snapchat video with a mutual friend named Violet. When her face appeared on his feed, Harry wrote that he had "never seen anyone so beautiful." Intrigued, Harry asked Violet to introduce them. While Meghan was in London, the pair met at Soho House for their first date. The evening went so well that they met again the following night — July 4. To make up for being late the previous evening, Harry brought something sweet. “She walked in, wearing a pretty blue sundress with white pinstripes. She was aglow. I stood and said, ‘I bear gifts.’ A pink box. I held it forward. She shook it. ‘What’s this?’” the Duke of Sussex recalled. He urged her not to shake the box, and they both laughed. “She opened the box. Cupcakes. Red, white, and blue cupcakes, to be exact — in honor of Independence Day. I said something about the Brits having a very different view of Independence Day from the Yanks, but, oh well,” Harry wrote, adding that Meghan said the treats “looked amazing.” After their server came and went, the couple shared a kiss. “Again, the conversation flowed, crackled. Burgers came and went, uneaten. I felt an overwhelming sense of Overture, Prelude, Kettle Drums, Act I. And yet also a sense of ending. A phase of my life — the first half? — was coming to a close,” he wrote, reflecting on falling in love. “As the night neared its end, we had a very frank discussion. There was no way ’round it. She put a hand to her cheek and said, ‘What’re we gonna doooo?’” Harry recalled of Meghan’s concern about dating long-distance. Determined to make it work, he told her they had to give it “a proper go” and invited her to spend a week with him in Botswana later that summer — a trip that marked the next chapter in their courtship. Fans got a glimpse of that meaningful getaway in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan. “For me, it was critical to share it with Meg,” Harry said of taking his then-girlfriend to the country that holds a special place in his heart. “We had to get to know each other before the rest of the world — before the media, you know, joined in,” he explained.