Real Reason Why Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Rushed Into Their Marriage: 'We Both Wanted...'

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle first met on a blind date in 2016. 2 years later, they tied the knot in a fairytale wedding at St George's Chapel in Windsor. Their whirlwind romance had many, including Prince William, skeptical. Commenting on the rushed marriage, royal author Tina Brown shared what actually prompted the couple to get hitched sooner than expected—Markle’s 'biological clock was ticking.' Royal author Tom Bower also claimed that Markle had voiced her desire for children not long after her very first date with Harry.

In The Palace Papers: Inside the House of Windsor, Brown revealed that William had his doubts about Markle. His concern was that Markle wouldn’t have enough time to adjust to the complexities of royal life, as reported by The Mirror. Markle had to leave everything behind, including her acting career, despite barely having any connections in London and little familiarity with British culture, as reported by the Daily Mail. However, Harry was allegedly more worried about other factors.

To him, the best way to keep Markle safe was to marry her as soon as possible—securing the same royal police protection he had as a working royal. Harry reportedly also cited that with Markle nearing 35, time was a factor in starting a family. Harry also opened up about the same in his memoir Spare. He wrote, “It's too fast, he [William] had told me. Too soon. In fact, he had actually been pretty discouraging about my even dating Meg.” He added, “One day, sitting together in his garden, he had predicted a host of difficulties I could expect if I hooked up with an American actress—a phrase he always managed to make sound like a convicted felon.”

It wasn’t just William whom Harry didn't pay any heed to—some of his closest friends also warned him about Markle. One of them was Tom ‘Skippy’ Inskip, a longtime friend from his Eton days. He reportedly suggested that Harry and Markle should live together first before taking any major step. Harry wrote, “We both wanted to start a family straightaway. We were working crazy hours, our jobs were demanding, and the timing wasn’t ideal, but too bad. This had always been our main priority.”

Harry and Markle’s wedding was grand, memorable, and surely controversial. Markle was the first American in decades to join the royal family, following Wallis Simpson, who married Edward VIII in 1936. The couple received the titles of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. On October 15, 2018, the royal family officially announced that the pair was expecting their first child. On May 6, 2019, Markle gave birth to Prince Archie, as reported by CBS News. After an unfortunate miscarriage, they welcomed their second child, Princess Lilibet, on June 4, 2021, named her after Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana, and Queen Elizabeth.