Royal Family Discreetly Removed Prince Harry's Statement On Meghan Markle Romance From Website
Prince Harry's landmark 2016 announcement, which first confirmed his relationship with Meghan Markle, has been removed from the British royal family's official website.
In November 2016, Harry's communications secretary issued an uncommon statement decrying the "wave of abuse and harassment" directed at Meghan after their relationship became public. This statement had been accessible on the royal family's website for several years, but the link is now inactive.
Newsweek reports that the internet archive site Wayback Machine could access the link on December 3, 2023, but by December 10, it was no longer available, indicating its removal occurred within that timeframe.
In the statement, Harry's representative mentioned: "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," the rep continued. "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."
In his memoir 'Spare', the Duke of Sussex, 39, recounted being advised to remain silent about the media attention on his relationship with the 'Suits' actress. However, he reportedly insisted on releasing a statement.
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Despite crafting a strong and honest draft within a day, the harassment continued unabated, and the statement reportedly incited anger from his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William, who had never issued similar statements for their own partners.
Prince Harry and Meghan, 42, married in May 2018. In 2020, they stepped down as working members of the royal family and moved to her home state of California.
