12 Romantic Stories of How Royals Met and Made Their Relationship Official

3 years ago

When we think of fairytales with happy endings, it’s hard to not picture our beloved princesses from the animated series we used to watch during our childhood years. And while their life seems to be full of ballroom dances and happy endings, they also had to face some trouble before getting there. Well, in most cases, real-life princes and princesses also have their own unique stories to tell, and even if, for many of them, finding love has been an easy task, the truth is that this is not a rule that applies to all of them.

Bright Side decided to make a compilation that sheds a light on the real stories behind how royals found love. In order to do that, we looked into the stories of 12 couples from the British monarchy, and we can tell you, not all of them are fairytales with happy endings.

1. Prince William and Kate Middleton

This iconic couple of the British royal family met in 2001, when they were both students at St. Andrews University in Scotland. However, it is said that they actually didn’t start dating until 2003. Although they never went public about their relationship with the mainstream media, it was a known fact that they were a couple. That’s also why their brief breakup in 2007 reverberated in the press. Especially since back then, they both attended the same events, but carefully kept their distance from each other. It was in 2008 when the couple began to grow closer again with Kate attending some of the Royal family events, even though William was actually not present at all of them.

Eventually, the couple worked out their differences and got engaged in 2010. William actually gave Kate Princess Diana’s sapphire ring as a symbol of their everlasting union, and the rest is history. They tied the knot on April 29, 2011, at Westminster Abbey. William and Kate welcomed their children George, Charlotte, and Louis in 2013, 2015, and 2018, respectively. It is said that the Duchess of Cambridge is already preparing to fulfill her future role as Queen consort of England.

2. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The youngest of Charles and Diana’s children found true love as he met Meghan Markle in London. It was back in 2016, and they were actually on a blind date arranged by a friend they had in common, a friend whose identity remains unknown to this very day. Later on, Meghan confessed that they had been secretly dating for several months before making their first public appearance: they used to travel together to exotic places like Botswana, or meet each other in Oxfordshire, at Kensington Palace, or sometimes in Toronto, where she was still working as an actress for the series Suits.

Then, one day, they finally decided it was time to quell the rumors and attended the Invictus Games in Toronto in 2017 together while holding hands publicly. Toward the end of that same year, the couple announced their engagement in the gardens of Kensington Palace and tied the knot not long after, on May 19, 2018 at St. George’s Chapel. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex welcomed their son, Archie, a year later. After much speculation, Harry and Meghan made public their resignation from exercising duties as senior members of the royal family and they currently live in the United States, having also briefly lived in Canada.

3. Prince Charles and Princess Diana

It is said that Prince Charles met Lady Diana Spencer in 1977, when she was just 16 years old, and that he was actually dating Diana’s older sister Sarah back at that time. Given the frequency with which he visited the Spencer house, there was no way Charles wouldn’t start to take an interest in Diana. Assuming this is what happened, he must have gradually began a relationship with her, inviting her to sail or dine with him. In the end, he finally introduced her to his family in 1980 at Balmoral, the royal family residence in Scotland.

After gaining her family’s approval, the prince continued to pursue her in London until the very day he proposed to her in 1981. Their wedding took place on July 29, 1981 at St. Paul’s Cathedral, a ceremony that was viewed by more than 750 million people from all around the world. The following year, Prince William came into the world, followed by his brother, Harry, 2 years later. The couple announced their separation in 1992 and their divorce was finalized in 1996.

4. Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip

Queen Elizabeth, back then Princess, was just 8 years old when she first met Prince Philip at Prince George’s wedding. That was in 1934 and neither of them could imagine the long road that laid ahead of them. It was 5 years later that they met again and started exchanging letters. Then in 1946, Philip asked her father, King George, for the princess’s hand. The King agreed, but he asked Philip to hold off on the announcement and wait until Elizabeth turned 21. The couple married on November 20, 1947 at Westminster Abbey and Elizabeth was crowned Queen in 1952 to become the longest standing monarch in British history. In any case, the couple welcomed their children Charles, Anne, Andrew, and Edward in 1948, 1950, 1960, and 1964, respectively.

5. Anne, Princess Royal, and Sir Timothy Laurence

The love story between Princess Anne and her second husband, Timothy, is one of the most controversial love stories of our time. When they started dating, she had not yet put an end to her marriage to Captain Mark Phillips. The couple began an affair soon after a first encounter, which ended in an outrageous scandal for the monarchy when his correspondence with her was made public in 1989. Anne’s relationship with her first husband officially came to an end in 1992 and later that year, the princess married Sir Timothy, to whom she is still married to this very day.

6. Prince Andrew and Duchess Sarah

Few people are aware of the fact that Princess Diana played a key role in the relationship between Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson. Lady Di had known Sarah for years and they were good friends. It seemed only natural that she would include her in the royal social circle by inviting Ferguson to a dinner at Windsor Castle in 1985. But there was more to it than just inviting a good friend for dinner. Princess Diana made sure Ferguson sat next to Prince Andrew. As we all know, her plan took effect.

Andrew and Sarah immediately hit it off, it was like sparks flew between the 2 of them. After a few months of courtship, the prince got down on one knee before her in Scotland in 1986 and that same year they got married at Westminster Abbey. In 1988, the duke and duchess welcomed their first daughter, Beatrice, while Eugenie arrived in 1990. However, the couple parted ways in 1992 and their divorce became official in 1996. But to this day, they both maintain a very friendly relationship, they attend events together and there are actually still people hoping that someday, they’ll get married again.

7. Zara and Mike Tindall

Zara did not receive a noble title despite being the daughter of Princess Anne. Of course, there was no way that would stop the young woman from establishing long-lasting friendships with London’s socialites and other Royals. However, Zara met her future husband, Mike Tindall, in 2003 in Sydney, Australia. It all happened thanks to her cousin, Prince Harry. The young woman was on a sort of sabbatical while Mike was there because his team was competing in the rugby world championship. After they met, the 2 started a relationship in 2004 that resulted in a marriage proposal 6 years later, in 2010. The couple got married in a very low-key yet charming ceremony on July 30, 2011. They welcomed their first daughter in 2014. In 2018, their second daughter arrived.

8. Prince Edward and Countess Sophie

Queen Elizabeth’s fourth and last son was also the last to get married. Prince Edward met his wife, Sophie Rhys-Jones, in 1987. But it took until 1993, when they met again during a tennis match, for him to figure out she was the one. They started a relationship that was secret for about 6 years until they finally announced their engagement in 1999. They got married that same year at St. George’s Chapel. The couple have 2 children, Louise and James, who were born in 2003 and 2007, respectively. As a fun fact to keep in mind, Prince Edward remains, to this day, the only son of Queen Elizabeth to have brought his first marriage to a happy ending.

9. Peter and Autumn Phillips

Queen Elizabeth’s eldest grandson, and Princess Anne’s son with Captain Mark Phillips, met his future wife, Autumn Kelly, in Montreal during a Formula One Grand Prix. Initially, the young woman did not realize that Peter was a member of the British royal family and, as the story goes, she didn’t find out until after 6 weeks of dating him. After years of dating, the couple became engaged in 2007 and married on May 17, 2008 at St. George’s Chapel. They welcomed their first daughter, Savannah, in 2010 and their second, Isla, in 2012. In February 2020, the couple announced their breakup, but clarified that they will share custody of their daughters.

10. Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

Princess Beatrice, the eldest daughter of Andrew and Sarah, had known Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi for many years. It hardly comes as a surprise as the young man is a close family friend and they always hung out in the same social circles. Although there were rumors of them being a couple since 2018, it wasn’t until 2019 that the 2 made their first public appearance together at the National Portrait Gallery’s annual gala. The couple got engaged in September of that same year and married in July 2020, in an extremely private ceremony at Windsor Lodge.

11. Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank

Princess Eugenie, the youngest daughter of Andrew and Sarah, met Jack Brooksbank, when she was vacationing and he was working at Verbier, a famous ski resort in Switzerland. Eugenie was 20 years old and he was 24, but as the story goes, the minute they met it was love at first sight. In 2018, after 7 years together, the couple announced their engagement and got married that same year at St. George’s Chapel. In 2020, they announced that they were expecting their first child, whom they welcomed in early 2021.

12. Prince Charles and Duchess Camilla

It is said that Prince Charles met Camilla Parker Bowles in 1970, since they both frequented the same social circle and attended the same events, including polo matches, for example. Their common sense of humor and hobbies inevitably made the sparks between them fly, so they dated for several months. However, Charles was sent on a Royal Navy mission for 8 months and, by the time he returned, Camilla was already engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles.

After much speculation and scandal, both Charles and Camilla divorced their respective partners and, in a very subtle way so as to avoid public scorn after Lady Di’s death, the prince was encouraged to give love a chance with his very first crush. In 2005, the couple officially announced their engagement, 35 years after they met, and they got married on April 9 of the same year. Because of the controversial nature of their relationship and the eternal memory of Lady Di that lives in British subjects, the Crown has stated that Camilla will not hold the title of queen consort, but of princess consort when Prince Charles ascends the throne in the future, after the reign of Queen Elizabeth has ended.