Prince Harry issues a rare statement comparing Meghan Markle's media treatment to Princess Diana's
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2nd Oct 2019
The Duke of Sussex has taken the rare step of issuing a candid statement regarding his wife, Meghan Markle’s, treatment by the media. Within the statement, published on the royal couple’s website, Sussexofficial.uk, the duke shared that his “deepest fear” is that history will repeat itself: “I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”
While the timing of the statement about the media’s treatment of Markle may seem unusual, given the couple are currently on a royal tour generating exceptionally positive press, as Prince Harry explains in the statement, the couple are taking legal action over one specific incident and those proceedings have now been initiated.
In the statement, 35-year-old Prince Harry details how Markle has become “one of the latest victims” of a “British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences,” going on to call it a “ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son”. Prince Harry further notes how “painful” it has been to stand by and “put on a brave face” while being “unable to correct the continual misrepresentations”, until now.
Per the statement, the incident the couple are taking legal action over relates to a private letter, which Prince Harry writes was “published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader, and further the divisive agenda of the media group in question.”
The duke then adds that this behaviour is not acceptable and they felt it necessary to take a stand. “There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level.”
This isn’t the first time the royal family has issued a statement regarding the treatment of Markle in or by the press. When the couple’s relationship first became public in November 2016, the palace issued a rare statement highlighting the concerns Prince Harry had for Markle’s safety after she and her family were subject to harassment when the news of their relationship first came to light. However, this appears to be the first time the couple have taken legal action over this type of issue.
In an additional media release following Prince Harry’s statement, the royal family notes that Meghan Markle has “filed a claim against Associated Newspapers over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act 2018,” relating to the publishing of the private letter.
Per the release, the duke and duchess are funding the case privately, and depending on the outcome of the case, if the result leads to any financial proceeds, the couple will donate them to “an anti-bullying charity.”
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