Meghan Markle left the first date with Harry quickly 'just like Cinderella' -

Prince Harry compared Meghan Markle to a Disney princess after their first date, but not for her beauty or grace… Instead, Harry compared Meghan to the fleeting nature of Cinderella as she was quick to flee from the date.

As the pair enjoyed the excitement of their first meet back in July 2016, it wasn’t long before Meghan gathered her belongings and left Harry to take care of the bill. In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry compared Meghan Markle to Disney’s Cinderella.

Harry and Meghan’s first date was cut short

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, recalled how he and Meghan Markle began dating in his memoir Spare.

The pair began engaging in an Instagram conversation, which quickly turned to text messages, on 1 July 2016.

American actress Meghan was coincidentally in London at the time to watch the Wimbledon tournament, and she said yes when Harry asked if she’d like to meet before she flew back home to Canada.

As a member of the British royal family, Prince Harry was unable to meet in a public setting so Meghan suggested Soho House at 76 Dean Street. She booked a table for them at the private social club for the following night. This was after Harry invited her back to his place and she turned him down.

On Sunday, July 3, 2016, bad traffic in London meant that Harry arrived 30 minutes late for their first date: He wrote: “I apologized. Profusely. I couldn’t imagine many people had been late for this woman.”

Harry wrote Meghan forgave him before they each shared a beer and began getting to know one another.

Regarding Meghan’s appearance, Harry described her as “heart-attack beautiful” and explained: “She was wearing a black sweater, jeans, heels. I knew nothing about clothes, but I knew she was chic. Then again, I knew she could make anything look chic.”

Prince Harry compared Meghan to Disney princess Cinderella

Once the initial awkwardness had gone at the beginning of the date, the warmth from their texting returned and Harry and Meghan began to hit it off.

The book explains: “We’d each had first dates on which there was nothing to talk about, and now we both felt that special thrill when there’s too much to talk about, when there isn’t enough time to say all that needs to be said.”

All was going well until Meghan gathered her stuff and apologised, explaining to Harry that she has to go: “I have dinner plans.”

Disappointed with her early exit, Harry recalled: “If I hadn’t been late, we’d have had more time. I cursed myself, got to my feet.”

The pair shared a “brief goodbye hug” and Harry told her he would take care of the bill before she left.

Pointing out her fleeting nature, Harry wrote: “Poof, she was gone. Compared to her, Cinderella was the queen of long goodbyes.”

By comparing Meghan to the Disney princess Cinderella, Prince Harry was highlighting how quick she was to leave their date, just as Cinderella quickly fled the ball at midnight because the magic from her Fairy Godmother was set to expire.

Meghan Markle soon became a real-life princess

Later on that evening, Harry recieved a facetime call from Meghan and the pair set up a second date, which led to a third.

After four months of ‘quietly dating’, news broke the Prince was dating the actress in October 2016.

On 27 November 2017, their engagement was announced in an official statement: “His Royal Highness The Prince of Wales is delighted to announce the engagement of Prince Harry to Ms. Meghan Markle.”

Six months later, on Saturday 19 May 2018, the wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle was held in St George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle in the United Kingdom.

The royal wedding meant that the Suits star Meghan Markle became a princess, just as Prince Harry had described her after she fled their first date.