As we look back on 2016, it’s hard not to get nostalgic for the clubbing scene, skinny jeans, and millennial pink fashion trends that dominated the year. Beyoncé’s Lemonade and the movie La La Land were at the forefront of pop culture. Creative directors like Alessandro Michele at Gucci, Hedi Slimane at Saint Laurent, and Phoebe Philo at Celine were setting the tone in the fashion world. And for Meghan Markle, it was a year that marked the beginning of a completely different life.

The Duchess of Sussex recently took part in the throwback social media trend by sharing her own memories on Instagram. In a carousel post released on January 16, Meghan posted a black and white video of herself dancing in a field with her husband Prince Harry. The caption revealed that their four-year-old daughter, Princess Lilibet, had filmed the clip.

The second post in the carousel featured a picture of the couple from 2016, likely taken during their trip to Botswana that year, which was also their third date. The image shows the couple embracing in knee-deep water amidst grasslands.

“When 2026 feels just like 2016… you had to be there,” Meghan captioned the post.

2016 was the year Meghan Markle and Prince Harry first met, set up on a blind date by mutual friends in early July. They secretly dated for about six months before going public with their relationship. In an interview with Vanity Fair around the time of their engagement, Harry shared that he invited Meghan on the Botswana trip later that summer after they had been dating around London. “We camped out with each other under the stars,” he recalled. “She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic. So then we were really by ourselves, which was crucial to me to make sure that we had a chance to know each other.” It was during this trip that he knew she was his “soulmate.”

“I was astonished that she said, ‘Yes,’’ Harry reminisced when reflecting on the trip during the filming of their Harry & Meghan docuseries. “This woman, that I’ve really met twice…she’s coming to Botswana, and we’re gonna be living in a tent for five days!”

The couple announced their engagement on November 27, 2017, and tied the knot on May 19, 2018. They later decided to step away from their royal duties in 2020. A decade into their love story, much has changed, and their relationship continues to be under intense scrutiny.