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Before Meghan Markle, Prince Harry’s dating life looked pretty different. Harry met the Suits actress in July 2016 at Soho House in London. They clicked almost instantly. “We met for a drink,” Markle said during their November 2017 BBC engagement interview. 

“Very quickly into that we were like, ‘What are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again.’” Harry remembered the date in his 2023 memoir, Spare, too. “I’d seen so many photos of her from fashion shoots and TV sets, all glam and glossy, but here she was, in the flesh, no frills, no filter… and even more beautiful,” he wrote. “Heart-attack, beautiful.”

They eventually got married on May 19, 2018, at St. George’s Chapel in Windsor. Notably, Markle isn’t the only famous woman the Duke has ever dated. Harry dated actress Cressida Bonas from 2012 to 2014. It was Princess Eugenie who reportedly introduced the two. 

Harry later talked about the Tulip Fever star in his memoir. He remembered breaking down in tears while talking to her about his mother, Princess Diana. It was reportedly the first time he’d cried about his mom since her funeral. 

However, they split in 2014 despite the engagement rumors surrounding them. Royal author Katie Nicholl wrote in her book Harry: Life, Loss, and Love about the heavy TV coverage of Prince William, Kate Middleton, and their then eight-month-old son, Prince George. 

This came during William, Kate and George’s 2014 tour of Australia and New Zealand. Nicholl described Bonas as “completely spooked.” During a 2017 interview with BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour, she said she felt “pigeonholed” by all the attention. 

She added that people were quick to “put you in a box” and assume that was all she was. The Saturdays singer Mollie King was also linked to Harry. They reportedly met in 2010. The two were later photographed together at a London club. 

King first denied reports about them. But in 2012, she admitted they had gone out for a drink. “Yes, I have met Harry, and we did go out for a drink,” she told Closer magazine. According to the London Evening Standard, Harry called things off because she was “too open” about their relationship with the press. 

Then, there was Norwegian singer Camilla Romestrand. According to CBS News, she allegedly told her friends that she had stayed at Clarence House. Romestrand also noted that Harry brought her breakfast in bed.  A source told the News of the World, “She says he was a ‘total gentleman’ but doesn’t divulge much else.”

The same source said Romestrand didn’t want to discuss Harry. It is because she feared that the story would overshadow her music. Harry never confirmed a romance with her, and Romestrand didn’t publicly confirm one either. 

Ellie Goulding was perhaps the biggest name linked to Harry. The pair already knew each other. The songstress performed at William and Middleton’s 2011 wedding reception. She also performed at an Invictus Games ceremony in 2014. 

Harry and Goulding were spotted together at the Audi Polo Challenge in Berkshire in 2016. They reportedly spent much of the evening together. According to InStyle, a source told the Daily Mail, “They’ve always got on very well, but things stepped up a gear recently.” 

The source also claimed they were “chatting, flirting and eventually kissing.” Harry and Goulding never confirmed a relationship. When Goulding faced questions about the rumors, she simply said, “You naughty people.” Just weeks later, Harry met Markle. 

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