This Story About Harry & Meghan's First Date Is Actually So Romantic

While much of Finding Freedom — the new biography on the Duke and Duchess of Sussex — focuses on Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's decision to step down as senior royals, it also provides plenty of juicy details about the couple's sweet love story. Royal reporters Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand give readers the reported scoop on everything from their first "ILY," to the details about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's first date. The Sussexes themselves did not give interviews for the book, but according to Scobie and Durand, the royal couple's first meeting went exceptionally well. (A spokesperson for the couple told Elite Daily, "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors’ own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting.”)

According to Finding Freedom, Meghan and Harry were reportedly set up on an anonymous date at Soho House's Dean Street Townhouse in London. Scobie and Durand claim that Meghan's pal, designer Misha Nonoo, made the initial introduction, and that Soho House's global membership director, Markus Anderson, helped smooth out the logistics of her date with Harry. “That included other friends being present at the informal gathering, 'so it wouldn’t be awkward,'" a source close to Meghan reportedly said.

"If that first meeting worked out, then they could plan a proper one-on-one date together," the source added. According to Finding Freedom, the two sat on velvet chairs away from the rest of the group and talked as if they were "in their own little world." While chatting about work, philanthropy, and Meghan's dogs, the two hit it off over drinks — a beer for Harry and a martini for Meghan, the authors report.

The date lasted three hours. "Despite the palpable attraction between them, there was no goodbye kiss, no expectation, just a hint that something was there and they hoped to see each other again soon," Scobie and Durand write.

The royal co-authors continue to spill the tea, writing that Meghan "threw off" Harry because she wasn't starstruck by his royal lineage. "He quickly realized that impressing Meghan was going to be tougher than just giving her one of his big smiles," Scobie and Durand write. Following the date, Harry reportedly told the co-authors' source, "I am really going to have to up my game here."

And the rest was history, folks! According to the source, Harry and Meghan were pretty much "obsessed with each other" from day one. Their second date was the very next day — a one-on-one dinner at the same Soho House location they had been to the night before. Their third meeting was at Harry's place, Nottingham Cottage in Kensington Palace. It's safe to say he did, in fact, up his game.