Meghan Markle and Prince Harry Cuddle Up in Unseen Photo from Early Days of Royal Romance

Meghan shared photos from the start of summer on Instagram, and she included a throwback snap from 2017

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in a photo she posted on June 9, 2026.Credit : 

Meghan Markle/Instagram

Meghan Markle shared a nostalgic look back at the early days of her romance with Prince Harry.

On June 9, Meghan shared a montage of photos on her personal Instagram page, and the post closed with the previously unseen shot of her and Harry.

Captured from behind, the black and white picture showed Meghan, 44, and Prince Harry, 41, snuggled up together while wearing casual clothes. Meghan had her arm wrapped around Harry, and they leaned their heads together, with her sneaker-clad feet kicked up beside her as they looked out at the sky.

At the top, the photo featured a timestamp of March 31, 2017, an era when the American actress and British prince were dating.

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry in a photo she shared to Instagram on June 9, 2026.Meghan Markle/Instagram

“Springing into summer 🌼,” she captioned the snaps.

The montage included shots of Meghan lying in the grass with a hat over her face, Prince Harry and Prince Archie, 7, playing with an oversized soccer ball in the yard of their home, Princess Lilibet, 4, rocking a Beyoncé shirt and the cozy throwback photo.

The Duke of Sussex revealed in the 2022 Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan that he and his wife initially connected through a friend on Instagram and had their first dates in London in July 2016. They instantly hit it off, started dating long-distance and reports of their romance broke that October.

Prince Harry in Wigan, England in July 2016; Meghan Markle in New York City in July 2016.Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty; Ray Tamarra/GC

Prince Harry confirmed their relationship in a rare statement the following month, doing so in hopes of protecting his then-girlfriend from what he described as racist and sexist abuse that began when their courtship came to light.

Harry and Meghan continued dating and announced their engagement with a photo call at Kensington Palace in November 2017. They married in a royal wedding at St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in May 2018, welcomed son Archie in May 2019 and stepped back from their royal roles in January 2020, moving to the U.S. later in the year.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, who retained the royal titles that his grandmother Queen Elizabeth gave them on their wedding day, settled in Meghan’s home state of California, where Lilibet was born in June 2021.

Prince Harry, Prince Archie, Princess Lilibet and Meghan Markle in the family’s 2025 holiday card.Meghan Markle/Instagram

Today, the couple divides their time between a mix of philanthropic and commercial projects while juggling parenthood to their young children, which Meghan opened up about in an exclusive PEOPLE interview last year.

“Once you know us, I think you want us to have the same normalcy as parents and for our children as they do, despite however unique our situation is,” she said about their private world in Montecito.

Prince Harry and Prince Archie in a photo Meghan Markle shared to Instagram on June 9, 2026.Meghan Markle/Instagram

The Duchess of Sussex’s latest Instagram showed a soft side to their family life and included footage of her chopping onions, their dog Momma Mia sleeping in the sunshine and a wedding anniversary card from Harry.

CRE: https://people.com/meghan-markle-prince-harry-cuddle-up-unseen-photo-early-days-romance-11994719