Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2016 Halloween party before they went public
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's 2016 Halloween party before they went public
Jasmine Carey, Julianna Salinas Sat, October 31, 2026 at 10:51 PM UTC
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Prince Harry and Meghan Markle went public after a Halloween party (Image: Pool, Getty Images)
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's initial meeting took place a decade ago, marking what would become a transformative year in their lives.
Their romance began in 2016, with that Halloween proving to be the moment their relationship became public knowledge. While going public typically isn't momentous for most couples, for someone in Harry's position it carried enormous significance. Once their relationship became common knowledge, the privacy they'd enjoyed while getting acquainted would vanish.
This comes after Harry goes trick-or-treating with Meghan and kids - but forgets one thing.
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Their romance had remained under wraps for several months following their initial summer 2016 encounters, but that secrecy ended on Halloween 2016. Before heading to a party, they learned that media outlets had discovered their relationship.
This meant the apocalypse-themed Halloween celebration they planned to attend with Harry's cousin Princess Eugenie and her future husband, Jack Brooksbank, represented their final chance to enjoy themselves publicly together without intense scrutiny.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle shared their first Halloween together in 2016 (Image: Dominic Lipinski - Pool/Getty Images)
Reflecting in his memoir on how that Halloween marked a turning point, Harry note, "We'd been tipped, before heading off to the Halloween Apocalypse, that another apocalypse might be coming."
Harry explained that his outfit provided effective cover, allowing him to go unrecognized as the couple celebrated at Toronto's Soho House. He characterized the celebration as entertaining and lighthearted, reports the Express.
The following day, Harry recalled that "everything was changed forever" after getting a phone call revealing their romance was about to break in the media.
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Harry and Meghan went to a party before news of their relationship was made public (Image: NETFLIX)
He explained they anticipated this moment would arrive, and had used the previous evening's celebration to enjoy their final hours of anonymity before public exposure.
The pair also discussed that Halloween gathering in their Netflix documentary series Harry and Meghan. Prince Harry recalled: "We went to this Halloween party together where we could be completely dressed up and no one would know."
Meghan continued: "We were like, 'Well, this might be our last shot to just go out and have fun.'".
Slightly more than a year after their romance became public, Harry and Meghan revealed their engagement in 2017. Prince Harry had proposed in the garden of their Nottingham Cottage residence on the Kensington Palace grounds.
In 2018, the pair exchanged vows in Windsor and relocated to Frogmore Cottage. They received the titles Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and brought their firstborn son, Prince Archie, into the world in 2019.
Yet, before their son reached his first birthday, the duo stepped away from royal duties in the UK and relocated to America. They attributed this decision partially to the intense media attention they endured as a pair.
Only this August have they moved back to Britain with their two children, Archie, now seven, and Princess Lilibet, five. They remain non-working royals.
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Source: “AOL Entertainment”
