How Meghan Markle, Prince Harry rung in first New Year's Eve together

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry ushered in the joy of New Year in 2017 after meeting each other on a blind date a year earlier.

On their first New Year together, the Duke and Duchess of celebrated their first New Year on a secret getaway in Norway.

Finding Freedom authors Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealed Harry arranged for the trip in part to help Meghan cope up with media intrusion at the time.

"Harry planned a New Year’s trip where they could really get away from it all. He rung up his pal Inge Solheim, a Norwegian adventure guide Harry had befriended during a Walking with the Wounded charity trek back in 2011. Inge had gone all out for Harry when he was with [ex-girlfriend] Cressida [Bonas], arranging a top secret 2014 ski trip to Kazakhstan," the authors wrote.

They continued, "Solheim arranged for Harry and Meghan to spend a week in a cabin in Tromsö at the very tip of Norway in the Arctic Circle, where there was absolutely no chance of being bothered by photographers.

"There, Harry and Meghan enjoyed seven days of dog sledding, whale watching, dining on local delicacies, and snuggling to watch as the aurora borealis lit up the skies," Durand and Carolyn concluded.