Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's relationship was made public after a Halloween party in Toronto in 2016, when a phone call from a Kensington Palace aide during the event changed everything for the couple.
Just months after they began dating, the royal pair marked Halloween alongside Harry's cousin, Princess Eugenie, and her now-husband Jack Brooksbank. The foursome attended an Apocalypse-themed party at Soho House in Toronto, with behind-the-scenes photographs featured in the Sussexes' 2022 Netflix documentary series revealing their distinctive costumes that evening, including Harry's Mad Max-inspired get-up — borrowed from the film's star Tom Hardy — and Eugenie's coordinating look.
Early Days of the Relationship
At that point, Harry and Meghan were still dividing their time between London and Toronto — where Meghan continued working as an actress on the drama Suits — while maintaining their relationship away from public scrutiny. Although the pair craved privacy just four months into their courtship, they were also tentatively enjoying a few outings together, as royal authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand detailed in their biography, Finding Freedom.
They wrote: "They especially didn't feel like spending Halloween weekend in hiding, as there was much to celebrate. Some four months into their relationship, they were madly in love and eager to take part in the fun of one of their favourite holidays. The evening of October 29, with Harry in town, the couple decided to go to a big costume party being thrown at Soho House in Toronto."
The Phone Call That Changed Everything
Just a few hours into their Halloween party, the couple discovered that a newspaper had uncovered their relationship and was planning to run the exclusive story the following day. The authors write: "A cocktail or so into the party, they were both feeling relaxed, absorbing the Halloween spirit. It was possibly the perfect night out - until they received a call from one of Harry's aides at Kensington Palace. It wasn't good news."
Harry also recalled the incident in his own memoir Spare, noting that "everything was rendered moot" the day after the party when news of their relationship broke. He explains: "Well, we said, staring anxiously at our phones, it was going to happen eventually. In fact, we'd had a heads-up that it was likely to happen that day. We'd been tipped, before heading off to the Halloween Apocalypse, that another apocalypse might be coming. More proof that the universe had a wicked sense of humour."
A Cherished Tradition Continues
Despite the turbulent memories from their very first Halloween together, the October occasion remains a cherished celebration for the couple — particularly now that they have welcomed Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet into their lives. Last year, Meghan shared a delightful video of Harry and their children selecting pumpkins at a pumpkin patch and carving them into an array of creative designs, getting well and truly into the spirit of the spooky season. The youngsters are spotted gleefully racing through rows of enormous pumpkins, with Harry trailing behind clutching a carving knife.
