Meghan Markle got a ring and a spring wedding date from Prince Harry, but the British royal had a wild side before making the move to settle down. There were more than a few romantic partners, some no more than a brief flirtation yet all noted by the British tabloids, who avidly follow 33-year-old Harry's every move.
The list, conveniently compiled by Popsugar, includes model Lauren Pope, singer Natalie Imbruglia, TV personality Caroline Flack, singer Camilla Romestrand, model Florence Brudenell-Bruce, singer Mollie King, Camilla Thurlow and singer Ellie Goulding.
And those are just the briefer interludes.
Britain's Prince Harry is engaged to Meghan Markle—here's when they're getting married https://t.co/AWHlTkDg4Y pic.twitter.com/QQP5jzU11Q
— Newsweek (@Newsweek) November 27, 2017
Harry had two longer relationships before Markle, including his off-and-on romance with Chelsy Davy. The two met in school and finally separated for good in 2011, the same year Prince William and Kate Middleton married. Davy expressed discomfort with the life that came with dating a royal. "It was so full-on—crazy and scary and uncomfortable," she said in an interview with The Times.
The prince also had a longer relationship with actress Cressida Bonas. The couple dated for two years before breaking up in 2014. The Telegraph reported that Bonas was also turned off by the attention that comes with dating a British royal. The couple seemed happy, and many royals observers were surprised when they broke up.
"Nobody had any idea that this was coming," Ingrid Seward, editor-in-chief of Majesty magazine, told People magazine at the time. "I thought they were very happy together."
The coming union of Markle, 36, and Harry has brought praise and enthusiasm from the royal family. "The queen and The Duke of Edinburgh are delighted for the couple and wish them every happiness," Buckingham Palace said in a statement.
It's worth noting how times have change. A divorced woman (this is Markle's second marraige) who is three years older than her prince would have raised eyebrows not so long ago. But that was before Harry's mother, Diana, and his aunt Fergie, the Duchess of York, changed everything about what is and isn't appropriate for British royalty.
