Prince Harry had a secret Instagram account at the time he started dating future wife, Meghan Markle, it has been revealed. According to the book Finding Freedom, shortly after her very first meeting with Harry, the actress started following a mysterious-looking account by the name of @SpikeyMau5 – belonging to non-other than the Prince.
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The profile itself had no photo, rather a mouse-shaped helmet. The name was inspired by Harry's love of house music, and adopted part of the name of one of his favourite DJs – DeadMau5.
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Spikey, meanwhile, came from a Facebook alias that Harry had previously used under the name of Spike Wells. 'Spike' was a nickname sometimes used for Harry by his Scotland Yard protection offices. Prior to shutting the account down, Harry's Facebook profile picture featured three men in panama hats, taken from the back in an MGM Grand Las Vegas hotel suite. It further claimed that 'Spike Wells' was located in Maun in Botswana – a nod to Harry's love of Africa. Harry's previous Facebook profile picture had been an image of King Julien, the lemur from the film Madagascar.
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Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, £13.60, Amazon
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Far less secret was Meghan's public Instagram account. And there were clues on her profile as to her fledgling romance with the Prince. Following the couple's first solo dinner date together, the actress shared a photo of a Love Hearts sweet with the inscription 'Kiss me' and the caption, "Lovehearts in #London."
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Finding Freedom, written by authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand, gives an extraordinary insight inside Harry and Meghan's romance. Despite the intimate tone of the book, the royal couple have stated they did not contribute, but notably have not denied the content of the extracts.
Their spokesman told the PA news agency: "The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were not interviewed and did not contribute to Finding Freedom. This book is based on the authors' own experiences as members of the royal press corps and their own independent reporting."