One of Prince Harry’s first statements defending Meghan Markle has been deleted from the royal website
A statement made by Prince Harry against the British media about his wife, Meghan Markle, appears to have been taken down from the Royal Family’s official website.
The statement, released by Kensington Palace in 2016 when the couple announced their relationship to the public, was the one which left King Charles and Prince William “furious” as it made them “look bad” for not defending their wives the same way, according to Prince Harry’s memoir Spare.
Newsweek reported the link to the statement has stopped working, with the last functioning version of it being found on December 3, 2023.
The Duke of Sussex condemned the press for subjecting his then-girlfriend, Meghan Markle, to a “wave of abuse and harassment”.
According to the statement, the couple were “a few months into a relationship” and it was “not right” that the duchess should be subjected to such treatment.
The statement issued by the prince’s then-communications secretary, Jason Knauf, said: “The past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.
“Some of this has been very public – the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.
“Some of it has been hidden from the public – the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her.
“It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm.
“He knows commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘this is all part of the game.’ He strongly disagrees. This is not a game—it is her life and his.
