Here's the *Real* Story of How Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Met
Three words: Violet von Westenholz.
![Suit, Formal wear, White-collar worker, Tuxedo, Gesture, Blazer, Event, Businessperson, Outerwear, Electric blue,](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/uGmv8i2d2zgmePz7ZyqPXg-415-80.jpg)
Here's what we know about how Prince Harry and Meghan Markle met, straight from Meghan's lips to our ears: "It was definitely a set-up. It was a blind date. I didn't know much about him and so the only thing I had asked her when she said she wanted to set us up was, I had one question, I said 'Is he nice?'"
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Okay, great. So we know they were set up, but we don't know how, why, or by whom. In fact, Harry and Meghan refused to share their mysterious friend's identity, leading the internet to speculate that they were set up by either stylist Jessica Mulroney, or fashion designer Misha Nonoo. But according to E!, neither guess is correct.
The outlet has it on good authority that Meghan and Harry were set up by Prince Harry's childhood friend Violet von Westenholz, who works in PR for Ralph Lauren. "Harry was having a really hard time finding anyone," E!'s "well-placed" source says. "It's hard enough finding someone new to date. He can hardly go on Tinder or a dating app like normal people, but to meet someone that you actually connect with, that was proving to be almost impossible."
Violet von Westenholz in 2011.
Enter Violet, who became friendly with Meghan thanks to her PR work. "Meghan had been a part of the London social scene for a while and had slotted into the high society set really easily," the source says. "And so when Harry told Violet he was having trouble finding someone, Violet said she might just have the perfect girl for him."
So basically, Meghan has Ralph Lauren to thank for her Cinderella story. What a world!
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Mehera Bonner is a celebrity and entertainment news writer who enjoys Bravo and Antiques Roadshow with equal enthusiasm. She was previously entertainment editor at Marie Claire and has covered pop culture for over a decade.
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