Harry and Meghan helped a local couple while hiking in Canada

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle gave a Canadian couple a true shock after helping them out on a hike in Vancouver Island.

Victoria, Canada, locals Iliya Pavlovic and Asymina Kantorowicz were hiking through Horth Hill Regional Park on Wednesday afternoon, and had just finished lunch when they decided to snap a photo.

Whipping out their selfie stick, the couple couldn't quite get the angle they were after, so decided to enlist the help of a group of people nearby.

The group, accompanied by two dogs, had just finished taking some photos of their own when the woman in the group approached Kantorowicz.

The woman offered to take a few photos of Kantorowicz and Pavlovic, but despite the woman looking "familiar", Kantorowicz couldn't peg where she knew her from.

In fact, she didn't realise she had just handed her camera off to the Duchess of Sussex until she spotted another familiar face in the group, Abigail Spencer, Meghan's former Suits co-star.

"I froze up. I actually couldn't believe who it was. Then I looked over to the side and that's when I realized Prince Harry was standing there," Kantorowicz told CTV, where she is a producer.

"I kept looking back and forth like, 'Is this actually happening?'"

She and Pavlovic happily let Meghan snap a few photos for them, the star-struck couple joking with the royals that "there's only so much that selfie sticks can do".

Meghan laughed and promised the couple she'd do better than the gadget, Harry reportedly telling his wife "no pressure".

She then handed the camera back to Kantorowicz and wished the couple a happy New Year, before heading off with Harry and the rest of the group.

Kantorowicz still can't believe the chance encounter, adding that the royals were "super friendly" and seem to be enjoying their quiet holiday in Canada with Archie.

The seven-month-old wasn't with his parents when Kantorowicz bumped into them, and was likely back at the $20 million holiday home the couple have been staying in.

Meghan's mother, Doria Ragland, flew from LA to spend the holidays with the family and may have been on 'grandma duty' while Harry and Meghan were out hiking.

The couple have been spotted in the Horth Hill area by several locals during their time in Canada, where they have retreated for a six-week break from royal duties.