Prince Harry had to get permission from the late Queen Elizabeth II to ask for Meghan Markle’s hand in marriage.

Prince Harry has revealed that he didn’t expect the late Queen’s “cryptic” reply when he asked for permission to marry Meghan Markle.

Harry and Meghan tied the knot in Windsor in May 2018, but the Duke of Sussex had to first ask permission to walk down the aisle from the late Queen Elizabeth II.

As part of tradition, the first six people in the line of succession must ask the reigning monarch for permission to become engaged.

Writing in his memoir Spare – which was released in January 2023 – Harry shared his late grandmother’s “cryptic” nine-word response.

In the book, Harry claims that he decided to wait until the family was on a shooting trip in Sandringham before raising the subject, hoping that this would mean his grandmother was in a “good mood”.

According to Spare, he then awkwardly asked: “I’ve been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose”.

As reported by the Mirror, the 40-year-old then wrote that the late Queen then replied: “You have to?” to which Harry replied that is what he had been told.

He then details a moment of silence before the Queen replied and told him: “Well then, I suppose I have to say yes.”

The royal claims he was a bit thrown off by her reply, writing: “I didn’t get it. Was she being sarcastic? Ironic? Deliberately cryptic? Was she indulging in a bit of wordplay?

“I’d never known Granny to do any wordplay and this would be a surpassingly bizarre moment (not to mention widely inconvenient) for her to start, but maybe she just saw the chance to play off my unfortunate use of the word ‘have’ and couldn’t resist”

The couple went on to welcome their first child, a son named Prince Archie, in May 2019.

Their daughter Princess Lilibet – named after the late Queen – was born in June 2021.