Meghan Markle and Prince Harry were played footage of the duchess being asked to choose between "Prince William or Prince Harry" during her career as an actress.
The Duchess of Sussex had not yet met her now-husband at the time and was being interviewed by Hello! Canada at a Dove Self-Esteem Workshop, in Toronto, in 2015.
During a round of quick-fire questions, Meghan was asked, "Prince William or Prince Harry?" and said, "I don't know," before shrugging and shaking her head. The interviewer then covered her mouth with her prompt cards and whispered, "Harry." Meghan replied: "Harry? Sure."
The moment resurfaced when the couple were shown a clip of it during their December 2022 Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, and the camera crews were able to film their reactions.
After the couple initially laughed at Meghan's use of the word "sure," the duchess asked, "What year was that?"
On being told it was October 2015, Harry replied: "Less than a year." The couple met in July 2016. Meghan then turned to her husband and said: "Honey, I'm sorry. I, of course, choose you."
Amusingly, Meghan was then asked "dogs or cats" and replied that her dogs "Bogart and Guy would be really boned if I said cats," not knowing that her future husband would one day be played her previous answer.
Harry and Meghan produced the docuseries for Netflix and so must have been comfortable enough with its contents to release the footage.
The 2015 interview began with Meghan being asked her No. 1 song "to pick you up." The duchess replied that she liked the Nina Simone song "I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel to Be Free."
Meghan's "fiercest female character" on TV was Olivia Pope, played by Kerry Washington, in Shonda Rhimes' hit political drama Scandal.
While Meghan's answer about the royal brothers was awkward for Harry, it does chime with a major reason the prince said he liked her—that she was not already clued up on the monarchy.
In his book Spare, Harry wrote how he explained early in their relationship that the Taj Mahal in India has history for the royal family. This is due to a famous photo of his mother, Princess Diana, sitting alone outside the mausoleum during a rocky period in her marriage to King Charles III.
"Meg had never heard of this photo, and found the whole thing baffling, and I
loved her for being baffled," Harry wrote.
Meghan also famously told Oprah Winfrey that she did not Google Harry before meeting him and had to be shown how to curtsy before meeting Queen Elizabeth II for the first time.
Jack Royston is chief royal correspondent for Newsweek, based in London. You can find him on X (formerly Twitter) at @jack_royston and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.
Do you have a question about Charles and Queen Camilla, William and Kate, Meghan and Harry, or their family that you would like our experienced royal correspondents to answer? Email royals@newsweek.com. We'd love to hear from you.
Uncommon Knowledge
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
About the writer
Jack Royston is Newsweek's Chief Royal Correspondent based in London, U.K. He reports on the British royal family—including King Charles ... Read more
