In November 2016, Prince Harry made it official that he was seeing American actress Meghan Markle. In a statement issued by Kensington Palace, he also condemned Ms Markle’s treatment by the press.

In the days following the news, the couple attended a Halloween party, when the prince allegedly wore a mask and went trick-or-treating.

He mentioned a “smear” on the front page of a national newspaper, racist connotations in comment pieces, and “outright sexism and racism” by internet trolls.

According to the prince, there had been a “bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life”

According to Entertainment Tonight, Prince Harry confessed that when he first saw Meghan Markle, he realized he “had to up his game.”

Katie Nicholl, author of Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, revealed to ET exclusively the prince’s initial impression of Meghan.

Despite her prominence on the famous television program Suits, the young Royal, 33, said he had never heard of the American actress before meeting her.

Harry told the BBC in their first joint interview: “I’d never even heard of her until this friend said ‘Meghan Markle’ – I was like ‘right OK give me a bit of background.’

“I’d never watched any of Suits. I was beautifully surprised when I walked into that room and saw her.

“I thought I’m really gonna have to up my game, sit down and make sure I have good chat.”

Katie Nicholl, a royal insider, tells ET about the first moment Prince Harry laid eyes on the ‘Suits’ actress.

There’s no disputing that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are over over heels in love.

The narrative of the future husband and wife is unlike any other fairy tale romance. While the prince was one of the world’s most well-known bachelors, he felt compelled to wow the attractive Suits actress when they met.

“Harry said, when he walked into that room and saw Meghan for the first time, he knew he had to up his game,” royal analyst Katie Nicholl, author of Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, told ET exclusively of the prince’s initial impression of Meghan. “There was this beautiful, glamorous actress, but I think it went far more than just a superficial initial connection. I was told really after those first couple of dates, he knew he had met someone very, very special, there was an immediate connection. I think they both knew. Was it love at first sight? I think it was.”

Harry and Meghan first met on a blind date in July 2016. Many people wondered who the mystery person who brought them together was after their engagement.

“In their engagement day interview, Meghan and Harry were not going to give anything away about who actually introduced them, so I was really keen in the book to try and get to the bottom of it and I think actually several people played a hand in this,” Nicholl added. “I was told by my sources that it was Violet Von Westenholz, Harry’s old friend and relatively a new friend for Meghan, who gave Harry Meghan’s number.”

“But I think other people were involved in playing Cupid too,” she continued. “Marcus Anderson certainly set up a date for them at SOHO house, and their mutual friend, Misha Nonoo, I think, also instigated one of those early dates. So I think they all played a part, but my sources tell me that it was Violet who handed over Meghan’s number to Harry and, of course, that was the call that changed everything.”

Harry described their blossoming affair as follows: “We met once and then twice, two dates back to back in London, last July.

“Then it was about 3 maybe 4 weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana and we camped out with each other under the stars for 5 days. ”

“Then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to each other.”