Heartwarming meaning behind Prince Harry's anniversary gift to Meghan Markle

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have given fans a rare glimpse inside their anniversary celebrations, and one detail has gone down as particularly sweet.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex marked eight years of marriage this week, after tying the knot at St George’s Chapel in Windsor Castle on 19 May 2018.

To celebrate the milestone, Meghan shared a series of previously unseen wedding photos on her Instagram, giving followers a closer look at both their ceremony and evening reception.

The Duchess posted 24 images in total, split between two posts, as she looked back at the day the couple said ‘I do’.

Alongside the throwback snaps, as noted by The Sun, Meghan simply wrote: “Eight years ago today,” adding a sun and moon emoji.

The cake was lemon and elderflower, just like their wedding cake (Instagram/@meghan)

Later in the day, though, the couple’s celebrations continued at home in Montecito, where Meghan’s Instagram soon shared a more personal behind-the-scenes look at how the family marked the occasion.

In one clip posted to Instagram Stories, Harry could be seen walking into the kitchen carrying a cake, which was said to be the same lemon and elderflower flavour as their wedding cake.

The cake featured four lit candles, while Harry, Meghan, and their daughter Princess Lilibet sang ‘Happy anniversary to Mama and Papa’ to the tune of ‘Happy Birthday’.

Off camera, Lilibet could then be heard saying: “Blow them!”

The royal pair then blew out the candles before sharing a kiss, while their daughter cheered in the background.

Still, it was Harry’s anniversary gift to Meghan that came with the most sentimental backstory.

Meghan went on to film herself opening a statue of two penguins leaning on each other, with Harry heard chuckling as she reacted to the present. Whilst a penguin statue may seem like a pretty random gift at first, Meghan soon explained why it actually meant so much to them as a couple.

The penguin onesies later inspired Harry’s sentimental anniversary gift (Instagram/@meghan)

Next to the gift was a stack of paper featuring photos of Harry and Meghan dressed as two penguins, with the Duchess explaining the memory to their children.

She said: “When Mama and Papa got engaged, we held a party with all of our friends and told them to come in animal onesies and we went as penguins.”

Meghan then explained that the couple chose penguins because they were ‘together for life’.

The Duchess later shared a photo of herself and Harry in the penguin onesies, before posting another sweet snap of them kissing in the kitchen over the anniversary cake.

Handmade gifts from Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were also placed nearby, including a card addressed to ‘Mama and Papa’.

Harry also appeared to have written Meghan his own card, which was addressed to ‘the one and only’.

The anniversary posts come after Meghan shared wedding day photos showing the couple at Windsor Castle, as well as behind-the-scenes moments from their official portraits, speeches, and first dance.