Many people believe that Prince Harry has changed since becoming a married man. Whether it's true or not, tabloid gossip likes to spin it to place the blame on Meghan Markle. The negativity has existed since the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's engagement was announced in November 2017. In a recent statement, Prince Harry came out strong against the out-of-control rumor mill, defending his wife in the process.
Harry's statement is part of a larger joint statement by the couple published to their Sussex Official website. In it, the couple announced their decision to take legal action against a particular tabloid for its publishing of a letter. The letter alluded to in the statement is believed to be the five-page letter Meghan wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, which was published by the Daily Mail in February.
The statement isn't the first time Harry has spoken out against Meghan's public treatment.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been the subject of a lot of criticism at the hands of the media throughout their relationship. While Harry receives a fair share of criticism, Meghan gets torn to pieces on a regular basis.
Prince Harry has spoken out about the way tabloids have treated Meghan before. In November 2016, Harry released a statement via his communications secretary about the discussion around Meghan and the hateful way she was spoken about.
"His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment," the statement read. "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."
It seems like Meghan's recent treatment by the media has forced Harry to publicly condemn them yet again. This time, Harry's statement was part of a larger statement by the couple announcing their decision to take legal action against certain British tabloids.
The full statement reflects on their views about the media as a couple. "As a couple, we believe in media freedom and objective, truthful reporting," it begins. "We regard it as a cornerstone of democracy and in the current state of the world – on every level – we have never needed responsible media more."
Then it shifts to Harry's perspective: "Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son."
"There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been," Harry continues.
"Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper."
"Up to now, we have been unable to correct the continual misrepresentations – something that these select media outlets have been aware of and have therefore exploited on a daily and sometimes hourly basis," he noted.
The couple took time to slam the two-faced nature of the coverage of them, as well.
"It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making. The positive coverage of the past week from these same publications exposes the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months; they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave," Harry proclaims. "She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour."
"For these select media this is a game, and one that we have been unwilling to play from the start," Harry continues. "I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in."
Then he mentions the publishing of a private letter, which is believed to allude to the letter Meghan sent her father, Thomas Markle, in August 2018 and released in February, asking him to stop engaging with the media, among other things.
"In addition to their unlawful publication of this private document, they purposely misled you by strategically omitting select paragraphs, specific sentences, and even singular words to mask the lies they had perpetuated for over a year," Harry strongly slams.
In easily his strongest condemnation of all, Harry draws parallels between how the media's treatment affects Meghan and how it affected the late Princess Diana.
"Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself," Harry noted. "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."
Prince Harry has successfully conveyed how serious this matter is to him in this statement. It's a bold way to show he's willing to do what it takes to protect his wife and child. We hope the family gets the peace and privacy they so genuinely deserve.
