Meghan hung around haunt frequented by Harry years before they met

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s whirlwind romance began in 2016, but the pair were unknowingly socialising at the same famed hotspot years before they officially met.

In May of 2014, Meghan described Marylebone’s Chiltern Firehouse as her “local haunt” in her blog The Tig, seemingly unaware that the hotel was also frequented by her husband-to-be just weeks earlier.

Prince Harry was spotted leaving the private members club in April 2014 after reportedly hosting a small dinner with some of his close friends.

Sources at the time said the event had been an intimate get-together for the Prince and his pals, including England Rugby star James Haskell.

Weeks later, Meghan posted an entry on her blog titled ‘An Insider’s Guide to London’, where she listed the Chiltern Firehouse among her favourite go-to spots in the capital.

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Her blog post, published on May 12, read: “This is my local haunt and sister hotel to Chateau Marmont in LA and the Mercer in New York.

“Coming from New York courtesy of my dear friend André Balazs, this is a little bit of New York mentality brought to London – by that, I mean it’s an ever-evolving mix of interesting people in an unpretentious setting with the best food and service possible.”

At the time of his visit, Harry was in a relationship with British actress Cressida Bonas, who was absent at the dinner, according to sources.

Despite both hanging out at the celebrity hotspot around the same time, Harry and Meghan didn’t meet until years later at Soho House’s Dean Street Townhouse in the summer of 2016.

The pair, who were set up by a mutual friend after Harry saw Meghan in one of her Instagram posts, have shared numerous details about their first meeting in recent docu-series Harry & Meghan.

The Prince later confirmed in his book Spare that the couple’s mutual friend Violet von Westernholz had put him in touch with the then-Suits actress.

Harry and Meghan got engaged in November 2017, before officially marrying in a ceremony held in St George’s Chapel, at Windsor Castle.

Reports emerged after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s wedding that their guests continued the party until the early hours at the exclusive Chiltern Firehouse.

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