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The Royals website no longer has the 2016 statement of Prince Harry announcing his romance with actress Meghan Markle. In Harry's memoir Spare, which was released last year, he wrote about the process of informing the world of their relationship.
“We needed a statement out there,” he wrote in the book. “Within a day we had a draft. Strong, precise, angry, honest.”
The statement was a pivotal moment in Harry's life, but as he states in the book, it did not go over well between him, his father, King Charles III (Prince Charles at the time), and his older brother, Prince William. They were “furious” with him because of the negative attachment it had to them as they did not defend their wives against the press in the same manner.
“Because they'd never put out a statement for their girlfriends or wives when they were being harassed,” he wrote.
According to Newsweek, the statement was available online on Dec. 3, 2023, and it was checked again on Dec. 10, revealing that sometime within that week it was removed from the site.
A spokesperson for Prince Harry wrote in part per People on the issue at the time: “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.
He continued: “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.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's Royal Bios Get Shortened On Website
This is not the first time that the royal site has had an update regarding Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. Their royal bios were condensed to jointly contain 577 words prior to the 2,700-word bio for the Prince and a 1,300-word profile for the Duchess. In January 2020, the two stepped down as senior royals.
Harry and Meghan got married in 2019 and have since welcomed two children together: Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. The couple opted to change the name of their children from Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor to Sussex earlier this year.
