The Duke and Duchess of Sussex asked New Zealand's Governor-General if they could move to New Zealand less than six months after getting married.
In an interview with the Associated Press, Dame Patsy Reddy revealed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle asked her in 2018 during their trip to New Zealand whether it would "theoretically be possible" for them to live in the country.
The question was raised on the couple's first-ever Royal Tour, when they spent five days touring Aotearoa before heading to Australia ahead of their return to the UK.
Dame Patsy says the Sussexes were taken with how beautiful Aotearoa is.
"They'd just been down to the Abel Tasman National Park when we sat down and had a drink and they said they could imagine living in a place like this and wondered whether we thought it would be theoretically possible... even possible for them to have a place in New Zealand."
She says she told them, of course, it would be fine.
"There are lots of opportunities to live in New Zealand, but that would be something they'd have to explore. They were looking at how they might raise their family - and obviously, they've made some decisions since."
A year after their New Zealand trip, the couple decided to leave the UK - and their royal titles - permanently
The couple travelled to North America for a holiday in 2019 and never returned.
In January 2020, they announced they would be stepping back as members of the Royal family, and relinquished their royal titles, becoming financially independent.
In an explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey in 2021, Markle revealed she had been suicidal during her time in the Royal family and was horrified by concerns from the Royals over what colour her first-born son Archie's skin would be.
