Prince Harry’s scandalous memoir ‘Spare’ contains a number of candid stories about members of his Royal Family. Starting with the fact that the Duke of Sussex denied rumors that his real father was not King Charles III, but James Hewitt, and ending with a fight with Prince William over Meghan. Although the late Queen Elizabeth II does not appear too often in the grandson’s book, there are also several references to her, including the moment when Harry had to ask his grandmother for permission to marry, The Mirror reports.
When the Duke of Sussex told trusted advisers about his plans to propose to Meghan Markle, he was quickly informed of a number of Royal Family rules he had to follow. First on the long list was getting permission from the Queen.
Due to the restrictions imposed by the Royal Marriages Act of 1772, any member of the Royal Family descended from King George II must ask the monarch’s permission to marry, MyLondon reports. In his memoirs, Prince Harry expressed dissatisfaction with this rule, claiming that it “made no sense” because he was already an adult man.
Choosing the most appropriate moment, during a shooting trip in Sandringham in 2017, the Prince managed to be alone with his grandmother. He confessed to her how much he loved Meghan and that he wanted to marry her.
In his memoirs, Harry admits that was nervous when asking the cherished question to Her Majesty, realizing that the refusal of the head of the family would cause chaos in his relationship with Meghan.
The Queen’s brief reply was no less eloquent in tone and left Harry speechless for a while.
He recalls his exact words in the “Spare”: he told the Queen how much he loves Meghan and that he wants to marry her. “I was told that I have to ask your permission before I can make an offer,” the Prince added. To which the Queen replied: “You have to?”. After a pause, Elizabeth II said, “Well, then I suppose I have to say yes.”
Elizabeth’s grandson admits in his biography that he was completely shocked by her response.
He’s writing: “I didn’t understand.
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 surprisingly bizarre moment (not to mention widely inconvenient) for her to start, but maybe she just saw a chance to beat my unfortunate use of the word “should” and couldn’t resist.”
The Duke of Sussex claims that he continued to stand still and admitted he felt like a ‘muppet’ once he realized what Her Majesty meant. Afterward, Harry thanked their grandmother, saying it was “incredible.”
As soon as he got the okay from the Queen, preparations began to propose to Meghan Markle. The details of this special moment were detailed in recent Netflix series.