In a groundbreaking appeal in 2016, Prince Harry said he was concerned for Meghan’s safety as she had been subjected to a “wave of abuse and harassment”.
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend a thanksgiving service in London on June 3, 2022
Prince Harry’s groundbreaking 2016 statement in which he first confirmed he was dating Meghan Markle is no longer available on the British royal family’s website.
In November 2016, Harry’s communications secretary released a rare statement condemning the “wave of abuse and harassment” his then-girlfriend experienced after news of their romance became public. The statement remained on the royal family’s official website in the years that followed, but the link is no longer active.
According to Newsweek, the Internet Archive Wayback Machine was able to access the link on December 3, 2023, but not until a week later, on December 10, suggesting that the link was removed during that period.
Harry’s spokesman said in the statement, in part: “His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subjected to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of it was very public – the defamation on the front page of a national newspaper, the racist undertones in comments and the blatant sexism and racism of social media trolls and commentary on internet articles. Some of it was in full view of the public – the late-night legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of the newspapers; her mother having to squeeze past photographers to get to her front door; the attempts by reporters and photographers to illegally gain entry to her home and the calls to the police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by newspapers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of virtually every friend, colleague and loved one in her life.
“Prince Harry is concerned for Ms Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he was unable to protect her,” he continued. “It is not right that Ms Markle should be subjected to such a storm after only a few months of being with him. He knows that commentators will say this is ‘the price she has to pay’ and that ‘it’s all part of the game’. He disagrees completely. This is not a game – it is her life and his.”
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The 39-year-old Duke of Sussex recalled in his memoirs: Spare partthat he was advised that “silence is the best option” regarding the media attention surrounding his newly revealed romance with the Suits actress, but he urged an “immediate course correction.”
“We needed a statement out there,” he wrote in the book. “Within a day we had a draft. Strong, precise, angry, honest.”
Prince Harry said the statement was “ubiquitous. And it doesn’t change anything. The onslaught continued.” He added that the move had also made his father, now King Charles, and his brother, Prince William, “furious.”
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry attend a thanksgiving service in London on June 3, 2022
“Because they never made a statement for her Girlfriends or wives, if She were harassed,” he wrote.
Prince Harry and Meghan, 42, married in May 2018 but stepped back as working members of the royal family in 2020 and moved to their home state of California.
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The Royal Family attends the Commonwealth Day service on 9 March 2020
The removal of Prince Harry’s statement is not the only change that has occurred on royal.uk since then. In March, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s biographies were merged into a single profile on the website. At the top of the page it says: “As announced in January 2020, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have stepped back as working members of the Royal Family.”
There is also a link to Meghan and Harry’s recently launched website, sussex.com.
At the bottom of the profile page are links to the announcements that Harry and Meghan will no longer be working royals, including the statement made by Queen Elizabeth after the Sandringham summit in 2020.
Related: Meghan Markle and Prince Harry spend double date night with friends in Montecito on anniversary weekend
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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry will visit Nigeria on May 10, 2024
“After many months of conversations and more recent discussions, I am pleased that together we have found a constructive and supportive path forward for my grandson and his family,” she said. “Harry, Meghan and Archie will always be beloved members of my family. I recognise the challenges they have faced as a result of the intense scrutiny they have been under over the past two years and support their desire to live a more independent life. I want to thank them for all their dedicated work in this country, the Commonwealth and beyond and am particularly proud of how quickly Meghan has become part of the family. My whole family hopes that today’s agreement will enable them to build a happy and peaceful new life.”
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