The ‘surreal’ detail about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s first text exchange

January 18, 2023 - 10:16 GMT Danielle Stacey Prince Harry began messaging American actress Meghan Markle in July 2016

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will celebrate their fifth wedding anniversary this May, but Prince Harry revealed a "surreal" detail about the day they first started messaging one another. Writing in his memoir, Spare, Prince Harry said he first laid eyes on American actress Meghan Markle when he saw a photo of her with his friend, Violet Von Westenholz, on Instagram, back in 2016.

The pair began messaging one another on the social media app before swapping numbers and texting late into the night - and the date of their first exchanges is very significant to Harry. "It occurred to me how uncanny, how surreal, how bizarre, that this marathon conversation should have begun on July 1, 2016.

My mother's fifty-fifth birthday," the Prince wrote. NEWS: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle divide fans with release of defiant statement Diana, Princess of Wales was tragically killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997, when Harry was just 12.

The Duke speaks about the impact of his late mother's death and the effect grief has had on him throughout his book, which was released earlier this month. In Harry and Meghan's six-part Netflix docuseries, the Duke spoke about another happy twist of fate.

The pair took this selfie at their first dinner date 

The couple announced they were expecting their second child, Lilibet, on Valentine's Day in 2021. In the final episode, Harry said that after the announcement he received messages showing clippings from a front page of a newspaper where Diana had revealed she was pregnant with her second child (Harry) on 14 February 1984. "I was shocked.

We had no idea. It was just a coincidence, or maybe not a coincidence," Harry said.   The Sussexes now reside in Montecito with their children, Archie, three, and Lilibet, one, after stepping back from royal duties in 2020.

Find out more about Prince Harry's new life in Montecito, as we spoke to one of his neighbours in our brand new podcast.

Make sure you never miss a ROYAL story! Sign up to The Royal Explainer newsletter to receive your weekly dose of royal features and other exclusive content straight to your inbox.