Meghan Markle and Prince Harry's life 'changed forever' by devastating Halloween phone call

On the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's first Halloween together in 2016, the pair attended an apocalypse-themed party at Toronto's Soho House, alongside Princess Eugenie and Jack Brooksbank.

Meghan and Harry, who were "madly in love" according to the biography 'Finding Freedom' by Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, were eager to partake in the festivities of one of their favourite holidays.

The book detailed: "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."

The party seemed to be the "perfect" night out, but little did they know, their evening of revelry would be interrupted by news that would change the course of their relationship forever.

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The couple's costumes for the evening were revealed in their Netflix docuseries, with Prince Harry donning a Mad Max outfit, borrowed from actor Tom Hardy.

The couple were enjoying cocktails and absorbing the Halloween spirit when the partying was cut short by a phone call from Kensington Palace.

At the time, their relationship was out of the spotlight with the couple balancing their time between London and Toronto where Meghan was filming 'Suits'.

However, one of Harry's aides at Kensington Palace revealed a potential "apocalypse" was coming their way, as Harry recounts in his memoir 'Spare'.

The "devastating" phone call informed the couple that a newspaper had discovered their secret relationship and was set to publish it imminently.

Prince Harry reflects on this moment in 'Spare', writing, "everything was rendered moot" when the story hit the headlines the next day.

He wrote: "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."

The revelation of their relationship marked a significant turning point for the couple, abruptly ending their ability to keep their romance out of the public eye.

Despite the public revelation of their relationship, Halloween remains a cherished occasion for the couple, especially since becoming parents.

In 2021, Meghan shared their family's Halloween experience on the Ellen DeGeneres show.

Archie, then two, briefly dressed as a dinosaur.

"Archie was a dinosaur for maybe five minutes," Meghan recalled.

Ellen added that Harry had to persuade Archie to wear the costume's head.

Their daughter Lilibet, meanwhile, was dressed as a skunk with Meghan describing her as "Like Flower from Bambi."

The Duchess noted that while they had planned "something fun for the kids", the children weren't particularly enthusiastic about the festivities.