Prince Harry has shed light on his personal conversation with the late Queen Elizabeth II when he requested her approval to marry Meghan Markle.
Today commemorates six years since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle declared their engagement and conducted their first official interview as an engaged couple.
Prior to proposing to Meghan, Harry was required to secure the consent of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth, in accordance with Royal Family protocol.
In his book Spare, Harry detailed the Queen's "cryptic" response to his request, which initially left him somewhat perplexed about her genuine feelings regarding his impending marriage.
The Duke of Sussex recounted how he managed to secure a private moment with the Queen during a shooting party at Sandringham, expressing his profound love for Meghan and his intention to marry her.
He then posed the question, "I've been advised to seek your permission before proposing," to which she, taken aback, responded: "You must?"
Harry confirmed that is what he had been instructed to do, and after a moment of quiet contemplation, the monarch gave her consent: "Well then, I suppose I must say yes."
Completely bewildered by her response, Harry recounted in Spare: "I didn't comprehend it. Was she being sarcastic? Ironic? Intentionally cryptic? Was she engaging in wordplay?
"I had never witnessed Granny engage in wordplay, and this would be an exceedingly odd moment (not to mention extremely inconvenient) for her to begin, but perhaps she simply saw an opportunity to capitalize on my unfortunate use of the word 'have' and couldn't resist."
After an initial moment of shock, Harry grasped that his grandmother was saying yes and expressed his gratitude, declaring it "fantastic."
He then embarked on creating the ideal engagement ring, featuring a white-gold band adorned with diamonds from Princess Diana's collection and a central diamond from his cherished Botswana.
The Duke then popped the question while they were enjoying a candlelit dinner of roast chicken under the stars at their residence within the grounds of Kensington Palace.
He nearly revealed his plan with the choice of drink for the meal, surprising Meghan with a bottle of champagne during the Netflix docuseries.
Harry confessed, "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 lying around.'"
In their 2017 engagement interview, Harry fondly recalled the proposal, saying, "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 a really nice moment, just the two of us, and I think managed to catch her by surprise as well."
