Prince Harry Reveals Meghan Markle's Birthday Connection with Another Royal That Charmed King Charles

The Duke of Sussex wrote in his memoir, "The bond between Meg and Pa, always strong, grew even stronger" when they learned of the coincidence

Meghan Markle's August 4 birthday has long been a special date on the royal calendar.

The Duchess of Sussex turns 42 on Friday, and Prince Harry shared the story of when King Charles realized she was born on the same day as another family member in his memoir Spare, released in January.

In the text, Prince Harry, 38, said the connection came up when he and Meghan visited his father in Scotland at the Castle of Mey during the summer of 2018, a few months after their royal wedding.

“The bond between Meg and Pa, always strong, grew even stronger during that weekend. One night, over pre-dinner cocktails, Fred Astaire playing in the background, it emerged that Meg shared a birthdate with Pa’s favorite person: Gan-Gan,” Harry wrote in Spare, referring to his great-grandmother, the Queen Mother.

“ ’Amazing,’ Pa said with a smile,” he added of his dad’s reaction.

Related: How Meghan Markle Will Spend Her 42nd Birthday with Prince Harry, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet

“At the memory of Gan-Gan, and the link between her and my bride, he suddenly became buoyant, telling stories I’d never heard, essentially performing, showing off for her,” Prince Harry wrote.

Before Queen Elizabeth’s great-grandchildren Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis called her Gan-Gan, her mother Queen Elizabeth, the Queen Mother was known by the same nickname to her grandchildren and great-grandchildren!

Charles was famously close to his grandmother, who died at the age of 101 in 2002. The two spent much time together while Charles was a child, and he went on to inherit both the Castle of Mey and Birkhall Estate at Balmoral Castle from her when she died.

Related: See Meghan Markle's Candid Birthday Message to Herself in 2014

Elsewhere in Spare, Prince Harry touched on how Charles and Meghan clicked when he introduced them for the first time. Harry and Meghan had tea at Clarence House with Charles and Camilla a few months into the courtship, and the Duke of Sussex wrote that the conversation flowed to acting and the arts — an apropos topic, as Meghan starred on Suits from 2011 to 2018.

"He had a lot of questions about Meg’s career and looked impressed by the way she answered. Her confidence, her intelligence, I thought, caught him unawares,” Harry wrote in Spare.

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Later, the then-Prince Charles would help them choose the music for their May 2018 wedding day and even walked Meghan down the aisle when her father, Thomas Markle, was unable to make it.

The bride started her walk down the aisle at St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle solo, before meeting the Prince of Wales, as he was known at the time, halfway to the altar. The two were all smiles as they walked down the rest of the aisle together.

As Charles greeted his son, Harry smiled and said, “Thank you, Pa.”

The Duchess of Sussex is expected to mark her birthday privately as she has in the past. Meghan’s special day will likely be highlighted by family time with Prince Harry and their kids, Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2 — and maybe a cake, like they had for Lili last year!

In perhaps an early birthday celebration, Meghan and Harry were spotted getting dinner at Tre Lune in Montecito on Wednesday.

The Italian restaurant is a celebrity hotspot, attracting famous faces such as Kevin Costner, Kenny Loggins and Kourtney Kardashian and Travis Barker (who may have crossed paths with Meghan and Harry during the night out — the drummer posted a photo on his Instagram story from inside the restaurant on Wednesday).

"From what I gathered, they enjoyed their food and had a nice time," a source tells PEOPLE.

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