Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's 'devastating' Halloween call that changed everything

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have always held a special fondness for Halloween, celebrating the occasion together since the early days of their romance.

Even in 2016, mere months into their relationship, they spent the holiday together, which unfortunately coincided with a 'devastating' phone call.

Their first Halloween as a couple was marked by an Apocalypse-themed party at Toronto's Soho House, alongside Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

The Sussexes' Netflix docuseries showcased images from that night, revealing their costumes, including Prince Harry's Mad Max outfit, on loan from actor Tom Hardy.

However, a "devastating" phone call received during the party would forever alter their lives, leaving them deeply concerned.

At the time, in 2016, Harry and Meghan were still keeping their budding romance out of the public eye, splitting their time between London and Toronto, where Meghan was filming 'Suits'.

As their bond deepened, they began to venture out more for their dates, and when Halloween rolled around, they were determined to join the festivities, devising a plan to do so.

In the tell-all biography 'Finding Freedom', authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand detail how the couple enjoyed what seemed to be the "perfect" evening at a Soho House Halloween party in Toronto.

They write: "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."

However, their joy was short-lived as a newspaper had discovered their secret and was set to publish it imminently.

The authors add: "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."

Prince Harry himself reflects on this moment in his memoir 'Spare', noting that "everything was rendered moot" when the story of their relationship hit the headlines the next day.

He shares: "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."

Halloween continues to be a cherished occasion for the couple, particularly since the arrival of their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The Duchess of Sussex shared on the Ellen DeGeneres show that the kids dressed up for the festivities, reports the Mirror.

Recalling the event in 2021, Meghan remarked: "We were home and we saw you guys, which was great. But no, we wanted to do something fun for the kids and then the kids were just not into it at all. Archie was a dinosaur for maybe five minutes. Not even five minutes."

Ellen then recounted how Harry coaxed Archie, who was two at the time, into wearing his dinosaur costume, adding: "Finally Harry talked him into putting the head on. But Lili was a skunk... it was so cute."

To which Meghan responded: "She was a little skunk. Like Flower from Bambi."

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