Prince Harry, Meghan Markle reflect on family Halloween traditions

Since the start of their romance, Halloween has become a cherished holiday for Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. 

Their first Halloween together in 2016 was marked by both celebration and a significant turning point in their relationship. The couple attended a themed party in Toronto with Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank, but their joyous evening was overshadowed by a "devastating" phone call that would change everything. 

Despite that challenging experience, Halloween continues to hold special memories for them, especially now that they have children to celebrate with.

In their biography, Finding Freedom, authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand describe how the couple enjoyed a "perfect" evening at Soho, where a Halloween party was in full swing. 

They note: "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, a newspaper had discovered their relationship and was set to publish a story the next day. The authors write: "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."

Harry also recounts the incident in his memoir Spare, stating that "everything was rendered moot" the day after the party when news of their relationship broke. He explains: "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."

Despite those memories, Halloween remains a cherished celebration for the couple, especially now that they have children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. 

The Duchess of Sussex shared during an appearance on The Ellen DeGeneres Show how the children dressed up for the occasion. 

Reflecting back in 2021, Meghan said: "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 convinced Archie, who was two at the time, to wear his dinosaur costume, saying: "Finally Harry talked him into putting the head on. But Lili was a skunk... it was so cute." Meghan added: "She was a little skunk. Like Flower from Bambi."