Anyone who gleefully sat down last November to watch Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’sfirst joint interview after their engagement knows all about the special meaning that Botswana has in their relationship. Her sparkler of an engagement ring, royal-watchers learned, was designed by Harry and sourced from the African country. In Vanity Fair contributor Katie Nicholl’s new book, Harry: Life, Loss, and Love, the writer delves into that first romantic trip.
In August 2017, Harry took Markle to the country they had first visited together weeks after they began dating in July 2016. It was Markle’s 36th birthday, and there were rumblings that the two might get engaged on this trip. Nicholl writes that the pair spent three weeks traveling around; Harry showed Markle his favorite spots, including Meno a Kwena, where he took his ex-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, in 2007. But Nicholl writes that this particular trip was a special, surprise birthday getaway for Markle, as well as a first anniversary trip.
“Harry had booked a £650-a-night tented suite with a carved wooden
king-size bed and open-air shower. They slept under the stars and
enjoyed their meals al fresco. From their veranda they could see zebra
cooling themselves in the nearby watering hole and other wild animals
at close quarters. It was the romantic getaway Harry had hoped it
would be and according to a report in the Mail on Sunday, the couple
spent an afternoon enjoying lunch before walking hand in hand to a
prime spot overlooking the river, where they watched pied kingfishers
swooping over the water and tried to spot the spectacular African fish
eagle.”
Africa has always been a favorite spot for the younger of Princess Diana’s sons. He mentioned in an interview with Hello! magazine in January 2017 that he had first visited the country after his mom died in 1997. Ever since then, it has been a place of solace for him.
“I first came in 1997, straight after my mum died. My dad told my brother and me to pack our bags—we were going to Africa to get away from it all,” he said then. ”My brother and I were brought up outdoors. We appreciate nature and everything about it.”
For her book Nicholl spoke with Roger Dugmore, a safari park owner who first met Harry in Botswana in 1999 and became friends with him. He said that Botswana has always a place where Harry could be a normal person, away from the paparazzi.
“You know, it’s a very different world here. I think what he loved
most was the fact that he was really treated like a normal person;
he’s just one of the boys. I think he once said “You know, if I could
have it another way, I think I’d be a safari guide in Africa.”
Despite the rumors surrounding the 2017 Botswana trip, Harry didn’t pop the question, but, as Nicholl notes, not long after they returned, Vanity Fair published its October issue, with Markle proudly beaming on the cover, next to the coverline, “She’s Just Wild About Harry!” The candid interview set the stage for the fanfare to come when, on November 27, the couple announced their engagement. The engagement had happened, they said during their interview, during a quiet night at home, while making a roast chicken.
“I can tell you that at the end of the day I think it’s really simple,” Markle told *V.F. last fall. “We’re two people who are really happy and in love.”
Oh, and it was then that the world met that big, shiny rock from Botswana.
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