11 heartwarming stories of how these celebrity and royal couples met

If coronavirus has taught us anything, it's that our loved ones are the most important thing in life. From ruined weddings to the inability to see each other during lockdown, the pandemic has had serious effects on relationships, but the stories of how these celebrities met are a welcome reminder that better days are coming. 

Holly Willoughby and Daniel Baldwin

This Morning presenter Holly Willoughby met her husband back in 2004 on the set of children's TV show Ministry of Mayhem, and apparently the relationship was formed entirely out of friendship. In an interview with Woman & Home, Holly said: "At first, I didn't fancy Dan at all – I didn’t even think about it. I don’t think he could have fancied me either because it was such a genuine friendship." The pair went on to date after six months of friendship and kept their romance a secret for eight whole months in order to enjoy their honeymoon period.

SEE: A look back at Holly Willoughby's beautiful wedding day

The Queen and Prince Philip

The Queen and Prince Philip were just children when they first met. They both attended the wedding of Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark and Prince George, Duke of Kent, in 1934. The pair met again in 1939 at the Royal Naval College at Dartmouth, when Elizabeth visited the grounds with her family.

Ruth Langsford and Eamonn Holmes

This Morning presenters Ruth and Eamonn also kept their relationship a secret when they first met in 1997. Ruth revealed that the pair agreed to keep things private since Eamonn had only recently split from his former wife and he felt it was insensitive to parade their new relationship. This only made Ruth fall even harder. "I thought it spoke volumes about the sort of man he was," she told the Daily Mail. "The sort of father he was and the integrity he had. It made me love him more, not less."

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

Harry and Meghan first met on a blind date in 2016. "We were introduced by a mutual friend," Harry told the BBC, and it seems that Meghan's lack of royal knowledge served in their favour. "Because I'm from the States, you don't grow up with the same understanding of the royal family," she said in the same interview. "I didn't know much about him, so the only thing that I had asked when our friend said that she wanted to set us up was, 'Well is he nice?' Cause if he wasn't kind, it just didn’t seem like it would make sense."

And kind he most certainly was. "We met for a drink," Meghan added, "and then I think very quickly into that we said, 'Well what are we doing tomorrow? We should meet again.'" 

SEE: The most-watched royal wedding of all-time revealed

Kim Kardashian and Kanye West

According to reports, Kanye said he saw a photo of Kim with Paris Hilton back in 2006, and immediately had a crush on her. He has since added that he "dreamed about being next to her", and even used to draw himself in next to Kim on the traditional Kardashian family Christmas card.

Tom Fletcher and Giovanna Fletcher

Tom and Giovanna have known each other since they were at school, but apparently Tom quickly forgot his fickle teenage tendencies. "I first met Tom in assembly at Sylvia Young Theatre School when we were 13 years old," said Giovanna. "We fancied each other instantly. He asked me out and we were an item for two days before he dumped me for his ex-girlfriend… It didn't take long for him to change his mind."  

WATCH: Giovanna and Tom Fletcher's wedding video has fans going wild again

David Beckham and Victoria Beckham

In a 2016 issue of British Vogue, Victoria penned a letter to herself describing how she had met David. "Yes, love at first sight does exist," she wrote. "It will happen to you in the Manchester United players' lounge – although you will get a little drunk, so exact details are hazy." David, meanwhile, previously said: "It felt straight away like we'd always been meant to be together." Sure enough, the pair are still together 23 years after meeting in 1997.

SEE: David and Victoria Beckham's love story in photos

Emma and Matt Willis

Busted singer Matt Willis first locked eyes with Emma (then Griffiths) while on MTV's Backstage Live. When appearing on Loose Women in 2017, Emma opened up about the relationship, revealing that she was the one to make the first move. She said: "I asked him [out]. We met at MTV actually, years and years ago... I chased him for a little bit." The couple had a stunning wedding at Rushton Hall in 2008 – and even renewed their vows there in 2018.

DISCOVER: Celeb couples who met at work

Prince William and Kate Middleton

Kate and William met when they were studying Art History at St Andrews University in 2001. Kate has admitted she was immediately overcome with shyness when they first met, saying: "I went bright red and scuttled off." Nonetheless, Will went on to pay £200 to sit FROW as Kate walked in a charity catwalk show later that year, and the rest is history.

Fearne Cotton and Jesse Wood

Fearne previously shared a photo of the first night she met her now-husband Jesse during a trip to Ibiza, and has since revealed further details on the night. In a clip from Shopping with Keith Lemon, she said, "We said hello and we shook hands, but it was a bit of a slow one. So we just chatted from midnight until 7 in the morning. I was very, highly flirty. I was probably more bolshy." Keith asked, "Did you get fireworks?", to which Fearne replied, "Oh yeah, whole thing. I really knew. I knew straight away."

Ben Shephard and Annie Shephard

It's not quite how they met, but what happened after Ben and Annie were dating that will give you all the feels. The couple were an item for nine years before they got married in 2004, and Ben's tribute on their 16th wedding anniversary was adorable. "So 15 years ago today I finally got my a** into gear and managed to marry @mrsannieshephard," he wrote. "It had only taken me 9 years to ask her (you can't rush these things!). I'm still not quite sure how I managed to persuade her to put up with me, but I'm very glad that I did, and she still hasn't worked out that there's far better options out there!!!" 

SEE: Ben Shephard celebrated his wedding anniversary in the sweetest way during coronavirus