PRINCE Harry lusted over Meghan Markle’s 𝓈ℯ𝓍y Suits character Rachel Zane for two years before meeting her, it emerged yesterday.

Prince Harry spent two years lusting over Meghan Markle’s 𝓈ℯ𝓍y Suits character, Rachel Zane, before meeting her

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry pictured looking loved-up at the Invictus Games

She also tells how Harry, who has been dating Meghan for 18 months, named the star as his “ideal girl” when asked by a pal.

Katie  said: “He had a crush on Rachel Zane two years before he met Meghan and the reason I know is because I was having drinks with one of his friends.

“She told me she’d been on a night out with Prince Harry. He was single at the time, so she said, ‘Harry, who’s your ideal girl?’ And he said ‘Meghan Markle from Suits.’”

Meghan, 36, has played the sophisticated New York paralegal  in the hit show for six years.

The claims are made by royal expert Katie Nicholl in a new TV documentary looking at Harry’s shock relationship with US actress Meghan

Prince Harry cosies up to Meghan Markle at the Invictus Games

Royal lovebirds smile for fans at the Invictus Games

Harry, 33, orchestrated a meeting in July 2016 through mutual friend Markus Anderson when Meghan was in London to see pal Serena Williams play at Wimbledon.

Katie — who features in tomorrow’s 9pm Channel 4 documentary When Harry Met Meghan: A Royal Romance — said: “He asked Markus if he could set up, not a date, but an opportunity for them to meet and that happened in one of the private rooms of Soho House.

“There were about seven or eight of them altogether and it was a perfect opportunity for Harry and Meghan to come together in a really informal environment and actually talk.

“She was funny, feisty, confident and she wasn’t swayed or knocked by the fact that he was Prince Harry. She thought he was terribly cute.”

Harry later told his circle that she was a “cracking girl”.

It’s claimed in the new TV documentary that Prince Harry asked a pal to set up a date with Meghan – seen here in Suits

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry pictured at the Invictus Games’ closing ceremony

It’s claimed Harry named TV star Meghan as his ‘ideal girl’ when asked by a pal

The documentary revealed that Meghan has Yorkshire ancestors through great-great-grandma, Martha Sykes, who left for the US aged one.

Meanwhile, Prince Harry warned youngsters about the addictive dangers of social media, labelling it “crazy and scary”.

He said on a visit to Copenhagen, Denmark: “It’s like a mental running machine they can’t get off.”

After finally meeting Meghan, Harry told his circle she was a ‘cracking girl’