As soon as the Duke of Sussex confirmed his relationship with the former Suits actress back in 2016, she was met with a wave of harassment from the media—which continues today. Ever since then, both Prince Harry and Meghan have been hounded by the British press.
Discover our latest podcast
The situation seemed inappropriate for Prince Harry, who then decided to release a statement defending his then-girlfriend, which was unheard of in the Royal Family until that moment. However, the statement did not have the desired effect the Duke of Sussex was hoping for.
It seems that eight years later, Prince Harry’s statement has been deleted from the Royal Family website. Here’s what we know.
Prince Harry’s statement defending Meghan Markle
As mentioned above, shortly after Prince Harry and Meghan’s relationship was confirmed in 2016, the former actress was hit by a wave of paparazzi and articles written about her. The statement was published on November 8, 2016, as per Newsweek, following an article written by the Daily Mail.
The tabloid had published an article concerning Meghan and her mother Doria, entitled: ‘Harry's girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed—so will he be dropping by for tea?’
In his memoir, Spare, which is estimated to have made millions, Prince Harry explained that ‘within a day’ a draft was ready, it was ‘strong, precise, angry, honest’. The Duke of Sussex explained in his statement that ‘a line was crossed’ and that his girlfriend had been ‘subjected to a wave of abuse and harassment’.
He wrote:
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.
Prince Harry went on to add that he was concerned about Meghan’s safety and he was ‘deeply disappointed’ he wasn’t able to protect her.
Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her.
At the time, the statement was a surprising move as it was the first time a member of the Royal Family had hit back against the media. As a result, not everyone was pleased with Prince Harry’s actions.
The aftermath of Prince Harry’s statement
Prince Harry sheds a lot of light on his feelings and moments of his life in his memoir. He wrote about the aftermath that followed after publishing his statement defending Meghan. He explained that Meghan was on her way to the UK and by the time she had landed, his statement was ‘everywhere’.
He adds that his message didn’t help and the ‘onslaught continued’. The Duke of Sussex then revealed how his father, King Charles, and his brother, Prince William reacted to the statement.
He claimed that King Charles and Prince William were ‘furious’ with his statement as it made them ‘look bad’ as they had never defended their own wife and girlfriend. He wrote in his memoir, as per Newsweek:
In fact, my statement generated a whole new onslaught—from my family. Pa and Willy were furious. They gave me an earful. My statement made them look bad, they both said. 'Why in hell?'
Because they'd never put out a statement for their girlfriends or wives when they were being harassed.
Back in January 2023, Prince Harry did an interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes to promote his book. During his discussion, the Duke admits that Princess Kate and Queen Camilla went through the same scrutiny, but for Meghan it was ‘very different circumstances’.
What Meghan had to go through was similar in some part to what Kate and Camilla went through, [but] very different circumstances.
But then you add in the race element, which was what the British press jumped on straight away
Finally, Prince Harry explains that he was ‘incredibly naive’ when it came to the British press and hadn’t realised how ‘bigoted’ they were.
Prince Harry’s statement has been deleted
It was reported by Newsweek back in May 2024 that Prince Harry’s statement defending Meghan has been deleted from the Royal Family website. Indeed, the Firm’s website has a section to keep records of all monarchy posts press releases, profiles, and official announcements.
The internet archive siteWayback Machine revealed they were last able to access a functioning version of the statement on December 3, 2023, as per Newsweek. They added that they tried to access the statement a second time on December 10, 2023, but were unsuccessful, meaning the post was likely deleted sometime between those dates.
It is not clear why the Firm has decided to delete the statement after eight years. Neither the Palace nor members of the Royal Family have commented. This change comes shortly after the Firm drastically shortened the Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s page on the website.
Up until March 2023, Prince Harry had a 2,700-word profile, while Meghan had a 1,300-word profile. The Palace decided to merge the two profiles together and is now only 577 words, as reported by Newsweek. Moreover, the pages dedicated to Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet were also deleted.
Read more:
Royal Family: As Princesses Beatrice and Eugenie step up, can they help Harry and William reconnect?
Prince Harry & Meghan: Could their children, Archie and Lilibet become working royals in the future?
Sources used:
Newsweek: ‘Royals Delete Prince Harry Statement That Made King 'Furious'
Harpers Bazaar: ‘Official Royal Website Deletes Prince Harry’s Rare Statement About Duchess Meghan’
