The fourth of July is just another day unless you're American or Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.

Every year since the US gained independence, Americans worldwide have gathered to celebrate what is now known as Independence Day. Celebrations often include parades, parties, and fireworks.

But the historical day has a slightly different, sentimental meaning for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex – a British prince and an American actor.

As Harry recalls in his bombshell memoir Spare, released in January, he and Meghan met on a blind date on 3 July 2016.

Harry had been scrolling on Instagram and came across a video of Meghan and a mutual friend named Violet in a video with a Snapchat filter on it. The prince wrote that he'd "never seen anyone so beautiful" when her face popped up on his feed.

The royal then asked Violet to set up a meeting.

The couple were set to meet at Soho House while the Suits star was in London. As it turns out, Harry was so nice that Meghan agreed to meet him again the very next day, which also happened to be Independence Day in the US.

"She walked in, wearing a pretty blue sundress with white pinstripes. She was aglow," Harry recalled in Spare. "I stood and said: 'I bear gifts.' A pink box. I held it forward. She shook it. 'What's this?'" Meghan asked.

"She opened the box. Cupcakes. Red, white and blue cupcakes, to be exact. In honour of Independence Day. I said something about the Brits having a very different view of Independence Day from the Yanks, but, oh, well," Harry wrote, adding that Meghan said the treats "looked amazing".

Their server came and went, and Harry and Meghan shared a kiss – their first kiss.

As the night ended, Harry wrote that he and Meghan then had a very frank discussion of how they would make their relationship work.

Click 'read more' for a look back on the royal couple's love story.