The Duchess of Sussex has described how she went out with Prince Harry for "one final fun night out" before their relationship was revealed to the world.

       Meghan, 40, told how the Duke had been visiting her in Toronto in October 2016 when they decided to dress up and go to a party in disguise for Hallowe’en.

       The couple had been dating for three months but the relationship was finally exposed that night, when a British tabloid newspaper splashed the news.

       The Duchess recalled the party during a televised interview with Ellen DeGeneres, to be broadcast in full in the US on Thursday evening.

       She said of Prince Harry: "He came to see me in Toronto and our friends and his cousin Eugenie and now her husband Jack, they came as well.

       "And the four of us snuck out in Hallowe'en costumes to just have one fun night on the town before it was out in the world that we were a couple.

       "It was a post-apocalypse theme. So we had all this very bizarre costuming on and we were able to just sort of have one final fun night out."

       The Duchess also told how their Hallowe’en celebrations had fallen flat, as their son Archie and daughter Lili “were just not into it at all” - despite their best efforts.

       She said to DeGeneres, who is a neighbour of the Sussexes in Montecito, California: "We were home and we saw you guys, which was great.

       "But no, we wanted to do something fun for the kids and then the kids were just not into it at all. Archie was a dinosaur for maybe five minutes. Not even five minutes."

       DeGeneres told how Prince Harry persuaded Archie, two, to put his dinosaur costume on, saying: "Finally Harry talked him into putting the head on. Lily was a skunk ... it was so cute.”

       Meghan replied: “She was a little skunk. Like Flower from Bambi.”

       The Duchess also used the interview to promote her children's book The Bench, which was originally written as a poem for her husband on Father's Day.

       "It was about my observation of him and him being a dad, which was the most beautiful thing to watch," she said.

       She said she wanted the book to show the "softer side of masculinity" and to make sure "everyone felt like they could see themselves in these pages”.

       Ellen asked: "Does Archie know he's in here? Does he know that's him and what does he think of the book?"

       Meghan replied: "He does. On that first page that you open and you see our dogs, he goes: 'That's Pula. That's Guy.'"

       Pula is the family’s black labrador, while Guy is their beagle.

       Celebrity friends

       DeGeneres is one of the many high profile stars that the Duchess has incorporated into her showbiz circle in recent years.

       The pair first met by chance at an animal shelter, when DeGeneres encouraged Meghan to adopt her first dog, Bogart.

       She has since described the Sussexes as "the cutest couple, so down to earth" and defended them when they faced criticism after taking a series of flights on private jet.

       The interview marks the Duchess’s first major television appearance since the Sussexes’ explosive interview with Oprah Winfrey, in which the Duchess spoke of her unhappiness at her life in the Palace and accused the Royal family of racism.

       Wearing a ￡1,336 Oscar de la Renta blouse, she told DeGeneres of her struggles as she tried to establish herself in showbusiness.

       The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have largely restricted their public appearances to charitable events and promoting their Archewell foundation.

       The Ellen Show, which has run for 22 seasons, will end next year amid allegations of a toxic workplace culture. Last August, DeGeneres was obliged to apologise amid allegations from dozens of former employees of sexual misconduct, bullying and racism among production staff.