Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Secretly Attended a Party Wearing Venetian Masks

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry secretly attended a 2016 Halloween party in Toronto, according to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand's new book Finding Freedom.

  • Before they announced their relationship to the world, Meghan Markle and Prince Harry secretly attended a Halloween party in Toronto, according to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand's new biography Finding Freedom.
  • Meghan and Harry wore Venetian-style masks to stay anonymous, Scobie and Durand write.
  • They were accompanied by two other high-profile partiers: Princess Eugenie and her then-future husband, Jack Brooksbank. 

Sussex biography Finding Freedom might have exposed the many painful aspects of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's royal lives, but there's also a fair share of fairytale romance in there too. Take the Halloween party they secretly attended together in 2016, before their relationship hit the headlines. According to authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Meghan and Harry celebrated the holiday at Soho House in Toronto on October 29, concealing their identities with Venetian-style masks. The future Sussexes were in royal company: Princess Eugenie and her then partner, now husband Jack Brooksbank attended too.

"They especially didn't feel like spending Halloween in private, as there was so much to celebrate," Scobie and Durand write, as excerpted by Grazia. 'Some four months into their relationship, they were madly in love and eager to take part in the fun of one their favourite holidays." Soho House, one of the couple's favorite venues, maintains a no-photos policy, meaning Meghan and Harry could be pretty certain of their privacy.

But alas, the tabloid media found a way to ruin things. "It was possibly the perfect night out, until they received a call from one of Harry's aides from Kensington Palace. It wasn't good news," Scobie and Durand recount. Their relationship had leaked to the press—and it was reportedly one of Princess Eugenie and father Prince Andrew's employees who told the Sunday Express. Within a month, Meghan and Harry's secret romance was a secret no longer. 

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Emily Dixon
Morning Editor

Emily Dixon is a British journalist who’s contributed to CNN, Teen Vogue, Time, Glamour, The Guardian, Wonderland, The Big Roundtable, Bust, and more, on everything from mental health to fashion to political activism to feminist zine collectives. She’s also a committed Beyoncé, Kacey Musgraves, and Tracee Ellis Ross fan, an enthusiastic but terrible ballet dancer, and a proud Geordie lass.