Here’s How These Royal Couples Actually Met

The Prince and Princess of Wales

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Kate and William met like any other students do really. After first catching his eye strutting down the catwalk at a fashion show at the University of St Andrews, Kate and William moved in with a couple of friends. Their relationship grew as they spent more time together and the rest is history. They have three children.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex

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Harry and Meghan are certainly known for making a splash, but who would have thought that their story would be so relatable? The couple met when a mutual friend set them up on a blind date. The only question Meghan had was whether he was kind - isn't that sweet?! They now have two children together.

Queen Elizabeth II and the Duke of Edinburgh

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At the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece, this lovely couple clocked eyes with each other. They were only eight and thirteen at the time. Just five years later, they began exchanging correspondence after they met again at Royal Naval College in Dartmouth. In 1946, Philip proposed to Elizabeth and they were married only a year later.

The King and Queen Camilla

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Their love story may not have had the best beginning, but it certainly had a happy ending for the two of them. After meeting at a party, the couple started dating. But when Charles left for the Royal Navy, Camilla became engaged to Andrew Parker Bowles. After both of their marriages fell apart, they reconnected and wed in 2005.

The Earl and Countess of Wessex

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Edward first met Sophie Rhys-Jones in 1987 when he was dating her friend. Then, after six years, they met again at a Prince Edward Summer Challenge for charity. Soon afterwards, they began their relationship and they have been happily married since 1998. They have two children together.

Princess Anne and Vice Admiral Sir Tim Laurence

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Princess Anne actually met Tim when he was on the job! He was working as an equerry (someone who attends to the royal family) for her mother at the time. They married in 1992 near Balmoral. They do not have any children together but they are still happily married.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana

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Princess Diana was always a member of the aristocracy, and, as a child, would often play with Charles' brother Edward. However, it wasn't until 1977 that she finally met Charles, when he was dating her sister Sarah! Two years later, once they were both single, they got together and were engaged after only six months.

Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson

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A very incestuous marriage, Andrew and Fergie were distantly related through their descendancy from the Duke of Devonshire and King James IV and I. They met each other when they were three years old on the sidelines of the polo field. They grew up together, marrying in 1986. They had Beatrice and Eugenie, and divorced in 1996.

Zara and Mike Tindall

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Reddit

Prince Harry is a bit of love doctor! In 2003, twenty years ago, Harry introduced his cousin Zara to Mike while they were in Sydney at the Rugby World Cup. They met at a pub as all Brits tend to do. They married in 2010 in Edinburgh and have three children.

Princess Margaret and Antony Armstrong-Jones

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Friends have a very big part to play in the love lives of the Royals. In 1958, Margaret met Antony, a photographer, at a mutual friend's dinner party. She commissioned him to take photos of her, and their love story truly began. They sadly divorced, but had two children together.

Princess Anne and Mark Phillips

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Princess Anne, the Queen's daughter, was a phenomenal equestrian in the '60s and '70s, as was her husband! They met at the 1972 Olympics in Munich and began dating. They married in 1973, but sadly divorced in 1992 with two children. They both remarried.

Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank

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Eugenie and Jack have a rather straightforward love story; they were both on a skiing trip in Verbier, Switzerland in 2010, and mutual friends introduced them. Jack has since claimed that it was love at first sight, and they were married in 2018 at St George's Chapel at Windsor Castle.

Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi

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All the way back in 1972, Beatrice's and Edo's parents met and have been close friends ever since. But they really got acquainted at a mutual friend's part in London and began dating in November 2018. After three years together, the couple married secretly in July 2020.

King Edward and Wallis Simpson

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This love story is slightly out of the ordinary to say the least! King Edward (the Queen's uncle) met Wallis through his mistress Lady Furness in 1931. She was an American socialite, he the soon-to-be-King. As she had been divorced, he was banned from marrying her after they started dating in 1934. He came King in 1936 but quickly abdicated the throne to be with his one true love, who he stayed with until his death.

King George and Elizabeth the Queen Mother

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The King and Lady Elizabeth Bowes-Lyon had met before in childhood, but in 1920, finally met each other as adults. When Edward proposed, both in 1921 and 1933, Elizabeth said no; she was not ready to make the sacrifices necessary to be a royal. However, she eventually agreed and they married in 1923. They had two children.

Crown Princess Mary and Crown Prince Frederik

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Much like the Tindalls, this lovely duo met in a pub! Prince Frederik was relaxing with the Danish sailing team in the Slip Inn pub during the 2000 Sydney Olympics when account director Mary swept him of his feet. They married in 2004 in Copenhagen Cathedral. They couple have four children together.

Queen Letizia and King Felipe

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Queen Letizia was initially a well-known journalist working for Television Espanola on their channel 24 Horas when she met her now-husband. She was covering an environmental catastrophe and in walked the then prince, offering his support to the communities affected by the oil spill. They married in 2004 after secretly dating for a year.

Prince Christian of Hanover and Alessandra de Osma, Princess of Hanover and Duchess of Brunswick-Lunebug

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Another unconventional meeting! Alessandra was Christian's tour guide when he was on holiday in Peru in 2005. The two lost contact for a few years, but once they reconnected, they married in a civil ceremony in 2017, then celebrated with a more official ceremony in 2018. They have two children together.

King Abdullah bin Al-Hussein and Queen Rania of Jordan

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Can you say photogenic?! Abdullah, then a prince, met his future wife Rania at a dinner party hosted by his sister. They were engaged only two months later. They married just a month after Abdullah ascended to the throne. A busy couple of months! They have four children together.

Prince Ernst August of Hanover and Ekaterina Malysheva

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Despite neither of this dreamy couple being British, Ernst and Ekaterina met at a party in London in 2011. He waited five years to proposed to the beauty in 2016 on the island of Spetses, but waited only one year to tie her down! The couple have three children together.

Jigme Khesar Namgyel Wangchuck, Bhutan's 'Dragon King', and Jetsun Pema

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Not to disrespect tradition, but this one is slightly creepy. The prince of Bhutan was at a picnic at the age of 17 when he met Jetsun, then 7. He said that if they were still single as adults, they would be married. They had a traditional Buddhist ceremony in 2011 years later.

Prince Carl Philip and Princess Sofia of Sweden

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It's giving Prince Ken and Princess Barbie. Much like the Brits, Sofia and Carl met at a luncheon thrown by mutual friends. It has been described as love at first sight. They married in 2015 in a beautiful ceremony in Stockholm, and have three children together.

Prince Haakon and Princess Mette-Marit of Norway

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Mette-Marit was a single mother working as a waitress when she initially met Haakon at Quart Festival, Norway's largest music festival. Nothing happened at first, but a little while later, they started dating and were married in 2001. They have two children together.

Crown Princess Victoria and Prince Daniel of Sweden

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Love is a good workout! Princess Victoria is the heir apparent to the Swedish throne (if and when her father passes, she will be Sweden's fourth queen regnant and the first since 1720!) Daniel and Victoria met when he was her personal trainer in 2001. They married in 2010 and have two children together.

Diane von Fürstenberg and Prince Egon von Fürstenberg

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Now an absolute fashion icon, Diane first met Egon at a university party at the age of eighteen. They didn't initially hit it off, but the more time they spent together, especially on a ski trip where he helped her in a small accident, the more she fell in love. They married in 1969, had two children and divorced in 1983. They both remarried.

Hope Cooke and Palden Thondup Namgyal, The Crown Prince of Sikkim

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University certainly is a place to meet your significant other! In 1959, while studying Asian studies at Sarah Lawrence College, Hope met the recently widowed Palden in a lounge in the Windamere Hotel in Darjeeling, India. They married in 1963, had two children and divorced in 1980.

Grace Kelly and Prince Rainier III of Monaco

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A legendary love story. Grace Kelly, in the height of her career, travelled to the Cannes Film Festival in 1955 and was invited to take photos with the Prince. However, after a series of issues, it was decided she would go and meet him at his palace in Monaco. They met, fell in the love, had three children, and lived happily ever after.

Prince Aly Khan and Rita Hayworth

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Another Hollywood love story. Aly was a long term fan of Rita, secretly organising the meeting with the help of gossip columnist Elsa Maxwell. She was to arrange a dinner party on the French Riviera. It worked and Aly and Rita married in 1949. They had one child together and Rita filed for divorce in 1951.

King Michael I of Romania and Princess Anne of Bourbon-Parma

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Both of royal descent, this love was written in the stars. King Michael became infatuated with Princess Anne's photo after seeing her photo in a newsreel. She was working as an ambulance driver during WWII right on the frontlines. They officially met in 1947 when they both attended the wedding of Princess Elizabeth and Philip Mountbatten! They married in 1948 and were together until her death in 2016.

Prince Rahim Khan and Kendra Spears

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A model on the rise, Kendra Spears was the face of Calvin Klein, Diane von Furstenberg and Prada. She was only 26 when she was introduced to the eldest son of Aga Khan IV by none other than superstar Naomi Campbell. They dated for four months, got engaged and married in 2013. They had two children before divorcing in 2022.