Prince Harry reveals Queen's reaction to his request about marrying Meghan Markle

Prince Harry, who includes a handful of details about Queen Elizabeth II in his memoir Spare, his late grandmother's reaction to his request about marrying Meghan Markle.

The Duke of Sussex book does not have much about the late Queen even though it contains a number of shocking stories about members of his family that range from jokes about the rumours of his parentage to claims of physical fights.

As per details, owing to the restrictions of the Royal Marriages Act 1772, any member of the Royal Family who is descended from King George II must ask the monarch's permission to marry.

Harry revealed the moment he was left confused by the late Queen's answer after he requested her blessing to propose to his then-girlfriend.

Harry asked his grandmother for her blessing before he proposed to Meghan, saying: "I've been told that I have to ask your permission before I can propose".

The Queen then replied: "You have to?" to which Harry explained that is what he had been told. There was a moment of silence before the Queen replied: "Well then, I suppose I have to say yes."

Harry admits he was completely thrown by her answer. He writes: "I didn't get it. Was she being sarcastic? Ironic? Deliberately cryptic? Was she indulging in a bit of wordplay? I'd never known Granny to do any wordplay and this would be a surpassingly bizarre moment (not to mention widely inconvenient) for her to start, but maybe she just saw the chance to play off my unfortunate use of the world 'have' and couldn't resist."

He claims he stood there trying to work out what she was saying, but then "realised" she was saying yes, describing himself as a "muppet". He then thanked her, saying it was "fabulous".