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Irish Mirror
Irish Mirror
Entertainment
Zoe Forsey

Prince Harry's romantic promise to Meghan Markle on third date - and he's still keeping it

What do you do for a third date when you're a British prince and a successful American actress? You go on a five-day trip to Africa, of course.

Busy schedules meant Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had a long wait to see each other after two explosive first dates, but their diaries alined for one full week in the summer of 2016 - so they decided to make the most of it.

Harry invited Meghan to join him on holiday in Botswana, a stunning country which has always been close to his heart. It's where he spent time after his mother Princess Diana died and he'd done a lot of conservation work there in the years since.

They spent their trip going on safari, sitting around the campfire and drinking cocktails made from river water. But mainly they chatted, telling stories and really getting to know each other.

But they had a scare on one of the nights, when an unexpected visitor arrived outside their tent.

Meghan and Harry have previously shared snaps from their special holiday (sussexroyal/Instagram)
Harry's Instagram photos from his time in Africa were one of the things that first drew Meghan to him (Netflix)

In his memoir Spare, Harry reveals that an elephant came right up to their canvas home while they were sleeping, causing Meghan to "bolt upright".

But moments later things got even scarier. Harry claims the tent "shook" from a loud roar. Lions.

Meghan asked if they were going to be okay, putting her head on his trust. Harry replied: "Trust me, I'll keep you safe."

It's a phrase Harry repeats through his record-breaking memoir, which has sold more then 750,000 copies in the UK alone, and something he's referenced in multiple TV interviews since leaving the royal family.

The couple shared snaps from their adventures during their Netflix programme (Netflix)
They spent their trips getting to know each other (Netflix)

Speaking during their Netflix show Harry & Meghan, he said: "My job is to keep my family safe. But the nature of being born into this position... and the level of hate that is being stirred up in the last three years especially against my wife and my son, I'm generally concerned for the safety of my family."

He's also previously explained that one of the reasons he agreed to his multi-million dollar deal with Netflix was so he had enough money to pay for security in order to keep Meghan, Archie and Lilibet safe after their British tax-payer security budget was pulled.

More details about Meghan and Harry's romantic African holiday came to light in the unofficial biography Finding Freedom.

According to authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, Harry was "delightfully surprised" by how down-to-earth Meghan was when it came to "roughing-it" for the week.

The Duchess reportedly packed very little clothing and "cleaned her face with baby wipes and happily wandered into the woodlands if she needed a bathroom break".

A friend said: A friend of the couple said: "The fact that they're both as happy just throwing on a backpack and going out to explore...I honestly think these experiences will never stop for them."

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