Prince Harry Reveals the Royal Rule He Hated Most When Marrying Meghan: 'There Were Strict…'

Prince Harry was never fond of royal protocols, despite learning the ropes from a young age. The Duke has voiced his frustrations with the many rules that dictated his life in his memoir, Spare. One such odd rule was having to seek permission from the late Queen Elizabeth to marry Meghan Markle. He admitted feeling awkward as a grown man, asking his grandmother for approval to wed a woman he loved.

As reported by The Mirror, Harry shared that upon revealing his proposal plans, he was told by his private secretary, Ed Lane, that he needed to follow one rule as sixth in line to the throne. He penned, “There were strict rules governing such things…He came back days later and said that before doing anything, I’d need to ask Granny’s permission.” Harry, who had been left baffled, recalled, “A grown man asking his grandmother for permission to marry?” While Harry wasn't too pleased, it was not uncommon for senior royals to ask the Queen for approval to marry their partner.

The Duke subsequently revealed that his father, King Charles, had also asked the late Queen’s permission to marry Camilla. He further wrote, “Elf [ED Lane] said there was no point in examining the whys and hows; this was the inalterable rule…The Royal Marriages Act of 1772, or the Succession to the Crown Act of 2013 – he was going on and on, and I could barely believe my ears. The point was, love took a decided back seat to law.” Despite his frustrations, he followed the protocol and asked the Queen’s permission to marry Markle. After she had given her blessings, Harry proposed privately to Markle after a night in.

In Spare, the Prince also recalled that when he sought his grandmother's approval, she gave him a rather cryptic reply. He revealed that during a family visit to Sandringham Estate, he found the perfect moment to break the news to her. Harry awkwardly said, “I've been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose.” In response, the Queen said, “You have to? Well then, I suppose I have to say yes.” The Duke claimed her coy response rattled him as he was unsure how she really felt about Markle.

While Harry was frustrated by the royal rules of the Firm, he also had one dating rule of his own, which he broke for Markle. As per the Daily Express, he wrote in his memoir, “The main one was that you absolutely must date a woman for three years before taking the plunge.” He realized that the Duchess was an exception after their first vacation together in Botswana. “I knew her straightaway, and she knew me. The true me. Might seem rash, I thought, might seem illogical, but it’s true. For the first time, in fact, I felt myself to be living in truth.” The pair married in May 2018, two years after they met on a blind date in 2016.