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Prince Harry knew Meghan Markle was his “soulmate” during a trip to Africa. The Duke of Sussex gave his wife a shoutout during his keynote address to mark Nelson Mandela International Day at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on Monday.
“Since I first visited Africa at 13 years old, I’ve always found hope on the continent,” he said in his speech. “For most of my life, it has been my lifeline, a place where I’ve found peace and healing time and time again.”
Harry continued, “It’s where I felt closest to my mother and sought solace after she died, and where I knew I had found a soulmate in my wife.”
The couple, who wed in 2018, traveled to Africa shortly after they started dating in July 2016. “And then it was I think about three, maybe four weeks later that I managed to persuade her to come and join me in Botswana. And we - we camped out with each other under the stars, we spent - she came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic,” Harry shared during his and Meghan’s engagement interview in 2017 (via ABC News). “So then we were really by ourselves. Which I think, which was crucial to me to make sure we had a chance to get to know each other.”
When it came to Meghan’s engagement ring, Harry sourced the main stone from Botswana. Discussing the ring, which includes diamonds from Princess Diana ’s jewelry collection, Meghan said, “It’s incredibly special. And you know to be able to have this which sort of links where you come from and Botswana which is important to us and it’s - it’s perfect.”