Prince Harry caught off-guard by Queen's awkward response to Meghan Markle request

It was seven years ago today that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle announced their engagement but before he popped the question, he had to ask his late grandmother the Queen for permission

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle were the picture of joy exactly seven years ago as they announced their engagement.

The pair looked blissful as they posed for photographers at Kensington Palace after announcing their happy news before sitting down for a interview with the BBC. But before Harry was even allowed to pop the question, there was on obstacle he first had to overcome. Due to a long-standing royal precedent, Harry had to ask permission from his late grandmother the Queen to ask for Meghan's hand in marriage.

Convention dictates that the first six people in the line of succession must ask the monarch for permission to become engaged. So when the duke realised he was ready to make the next step with Meghan, he broached the late Queen for her blessing before presenting the former actress with her ring.

And in his memoir Spare, he details the moment he plucked up the courage to broach the subject with his granny - and her 'cryptic' nine-word response. In the book, Harry says he decided to wait until the family were on a shooting trip in Sandringham before raising the subject, hoping it would put the late Queen in a 'good mood'.

Once the shoot was finished Harry managed to get his grandmother alone, admitting his mind was racing. He recalls his exact words in Spare, telling his grandmother how much he loved Meg and that he wanted to marry her. According to the book, he then awkwardly asked: "I've been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose".

He says the 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."

Harry admits he was completely thrown by her answer. He writes: "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"

He claims he stood there trying to work out what she was saying, but then 'realised' she was saying yes, describing himself as a 'muppet'. He then thanked her, saying it was 'fabulous'. Once he had the go-ahead, it came to designing the ring and planning the perfect moment with Meghan. He took two diamonds from Princess Diana's collection and one he procured from his beloved Botswana to create the gold ring.

He popped the question during a night in at their Kensington Palace home. The couple roasted a chicken and then headed outside with candles to sit under the stars. But Harry almost gave the game away with his choice of drinks for the casual weekday dinner. Speaking of his proposal in their Netflix show Harry & Meghan, the prince explained: "I did pop a bottle of champagne while she was roasting a chicken and that kind of slightly gave the game away. She was like, 'You never drink champagne, what's the occasion?' And I was like, 'I don't know, I just had it like, lying around"

While he set things up, Meghan called a friend to share the excitement. She recorded the phone call, and can be heard saying: "Oh my God Jess, Jess, it's happening, it's happening. He told me not to peek." The couple shared a romantic photo of the moment on the docuseries, showing Harry kneeling on a blanket holding a ring box in one hand and their dog Guy's collar in the other while a bunch of white roses sat on the floor in front of him.

Recalling the moment in their engagement interview, Harry said: "She didn't even let me finish. She said, 'Can I say yes? Can I say yes?' and then there were hugs and I had the ring in my hand and I was like, 'Can I - can I give you the ring?' She goes, 'Oh yes the ring'. So no it was - it was a really nice moment, it was just the two of us and I think managed to catch - catch her by surprise as well."