Prince Harry Wooed Meghan Markle With an Emoji

published 1 August 2020

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's love story is even more of a modern fairytale than we ever realized. Among the many revelations about the couple's relationship in the new book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family is the fact that Harry apparently wooed Meghan via text message, using emojis. So. Modern.

As the story goes, Harry and Meghan's first hangout sesh was a group hang with friends at London's Soho House, where the future-spouses were "in their own little world" according to a source interviewed for the book, written by royal correspondents Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand.

After the hangout with friends, Harry wasted no time texting Meghan.

"His messages were often short and full of emojis, in particular the ghost emoji, which he often used instead of a smiley face," the authors write in the best-selling book. "For what reason? Nobody knows. But Meghan found his texting etiquette funny and adorable, just like the prince."

This was, apparently, Harry's way of being very direct about the love connection he was feeling.

"He definitely didn’t hide the fact that he was keen. He wanted her to know he was very interested," a friend of Meghan's said in the book.

Take note, romantics: Quirky emojis get the job done.

Kayleigh Roberts is a freelance writer and editor with over 10 years of professional experience covering entertainment of all genres, from new movie and TV releases to nostalgia, and celebrity news. Her byline has appeared in Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, ELLE, Harper’s Bazaar, The Atlantic, Allure, Entertainment Weekly, MTV, Bustle, Refinery29, Girls’ Life Magazine, Just Jared, and Tiger Beat, among other publications. She's a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.