When Queen Elizabeth Gave a Cryptic 'Nine-Word' Reply to Harry About Marrying Meghan Markle

The Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan revealed details about how Prince Harry proposed to Meghan Markle. Harry offered more insight about the same in his 2023 memoir, Spare. He disclosed that before proposing to Markle in 2017, he had to get the approval of his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II given his position in the line of succession. Royal protocol states that the first six in line must get the monarch’s permission before getting engaged. However, the Queen gave a cryptic nine-word response.

In his memoir, Harry shared that he brought up the topic during a family trip to Sandringham. He managed to get a moment alone with his grandmother, confessing his thoughts. As reported by the Mirror, he said, "I've been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose". In response, the Queen asked, "You have to?" and was quiet for a while, before answering, "Well then, I suppose I have to say yes." Harry admits he was completely caught off guard by her answer.

He wrote, "I didn't get it. Was she being sarcastic? Ironic? Deliberately cryptic? Was she indulging in a bit of wordplay? I'd never known Granny to do any wordplay and this would be a surpassingly bizarre moment (not to mention widely inconvenient) for her to start, but maybe she just saw the chance to play off my unfortunate use of the word 'have' and couldn't resist." He then thanked her, calling it fabulous. The prince eventually proposed to Markle during a cozy night at their Kensington Palace home. 

Harry also spoke about the proposal in their Netflix series. "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 like, lying around," Harry recalled. He added, "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 give you the ring?' She goes, 'Oh yes the ring.' So no it was- it was a really nice moment, it was just the two of us and I think I managed to catch her by surprise as well."

The couple shared a romantic photo of the moment on the docuseries, which featured Harry kneeling on a blanket holding a ring box in one hand and their dog's collar in the other, surrounded by a bunch of white roses. Reflecting on their relationship, Harry earlier admitted, "From my perspective, I fell head over heels in love with her because my heart told me that she was the one that I was gonna spend the rest of my life with. Once I got to know her even more, my head then told me, 'Well, she's absolutely perfect for the role as well.' When it came to Meghan, that was, I guess, the case of finding a needle in a haystack," as reported by Harper's Bazaar.