What Meghan And Harry's Dog's Name Really Means
While Prince Harry and Meghan Markle adopted a black Labrador not long after their royal wedding in 2018, they haven't revealed too much about the royal pooch. Now, though, we've got more details on the rescue pup thanks to the new book Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan and the Making of a Modern Royal Family (via People).
In the book, royal journalists Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex named their dog Pula and also explained what the name means. While the name isn't one you'd expect the royals to pick for their dog, it's actually quite a fitting one. As royal watchers know, Botswana is a special place for Harry and Meghan as they visited the country together early in their relationship. Pula just so happens to be Botswana's official currency. The name means "rain" in Setswana. Since it doesn't rain very often in Botswana, it is considered to be a blessing — just like Meghan and Harry's dog.
Botswana is very special to Harry and Meghan
It makes sense that Harry and Meghan would want to pay tribute to a place that means so much to them in such a way. This isn't the first time that they've revisited that romantic getaway from the early days of their relationship. In 2019, Meghan celebrated Harry's birthday by recreating their camping trip in their backyard. "It's a place that means so much to them — and to Harry in particular — so Meghan wanted to bring that happy place to him on his day so she set up a tent, got sleeping bags, cooked dinner and recreated Botswana where they fell in love," a source told People.
As Prince Harry revealed in the couple's 2017 engagement interview with the BBC and CNN, the couple went to Botswana together after just a couple of dates. "And we camped out with each other under the stars," said Harry. "She came and joined me for five days out there, which was absolutely fantastic."
In the same interview, the royal revealed that the center stone of Meghan's engagement ring is from Botswana, while the other diamonds belonged to his mother, Princess Diana.