Prince Harry reveals he proposed to Meghan Markle while cooking roast chicken

'It was so sweet and natural and very romantic,' Ms Markle says

Prince Harry has revealed that he proposed to fiance Meghan Markle in the kitchen, over a roast chicken.

His Royal Highness told BBC One that he popped the question on a “standard, typical night” in their cottage, while the two attempted to cook dinner.

“It was so sweet and natural and very romantic,” Ms Markle said on Monday, the same day the couple announced their engagement. “He got on one knee.”

She added: “As a matter of fact, I could barely let you finish proposing. I said, ‘Can I say yes now’?”

According to Prince Harry, he didn't even have time to give her the ring before she said yes and hugged him.

"It was a really nice moment," he said. "It was just the two of us and I think managed to catch her by surprise as well."

The romantic moment happened earlier this month, according to an official Clarence House press release. The two are set to be married in the Spring of 2018.

The pair began dating about a year and a half ago, when they were introduced by a mutual friend. They were first photographed together in December of 2016, while shopping for a Christmas tree.

Even before then, however, Prince Harry said the two had gotten to known each other on private dates – including a five-day camping trip in Botswana that he described as "fantastic".

While the pair waxed eloquent about many parts of their courtship, they admitted that there have been some rough patches, too.

Last November, Prince Harry made an unusual public statement defending his then-girlfriend, and chiding the press for the "racial undertones" in their coverage of the relationship. Ms Markle, whose mother is black and father is white, will be the first mixed-race person to marry a senior member of the royal family.

On Monday, the couple revealed how they had survived the onslaught of press coverage.

"You know, it was just obvious that no matter what we were being put through, that it was just temporary and that we were going to be able to get through that," Mr Markle said, adding that her friends and family all approved of the match.

Prince Harry added that the two had received "fantastic support" from his family. In fact, he believes his mother, Princess Diana, would have loved his new fiance, too.

"I'm sure she's with us yeah, you know, jumping up and down somewhere else," he said.