Over four years after Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the duties of the British royal family, the prince’s 2016 statement confirming their relationship was removed from the royal website.
The royal family is clearing out its archives.
As such, it appears Prince Harry‘s powerful 2016 statement that not only confirmed his romance with Meghan Markle, but also defended her from racist abuse, is no longer traceable on the royal family website.
While the November 8, 2016 statement can be found through the royal domain’s search engine, the link to actually bring a user to the statement itself is broken, multipleoutlets have reported. E! News has reached out to reps for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex as well as the Palace for comment regarding the matter.
At the time, when rumblings of a romance between Harry and Meghan led to a wave of negative press against the Suits star, Kensington communications secretary Jason Knauf—who represented Harry as well as Prince William and Kate Middleton—shared a rare, impassioned statement in her defense.
“Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment,” the message 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.”
Of course, in the years since confirming the relationship, Harry and Meghan—who share kids Archie, 5, and Lilibet, 2—tied the knot and ultimately stepped back as senior members of the royal family.
But looking back on that moment, Harry has expressed how important it was for him to defend the woman he loved.
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“We needed a statement out there—within a day we had a draft,” he recalled in his 2023 memoir Spare. “Strong, precise, angry, honest.”
And while the 39-year-old lamented that the statement did not stop the “onslaught” of harassment on Meghan, 42, it also had other repercussions. In fact, Harry claimed in his memoir that the bulletin made his brother William—who shares children George, 10, Charlotte, 9, and Archie, 6, with Kate—and his father King Charles III “furious.”
“Because they’d never put out a statement for their girlfriends or wives,” Harry detailed in the book. “When they were being harassed.”
The alleged removal of Harry’s 2016 statement is jarring for fans, but it is far from the most shattering royal news of 2024. Keep reading for all the updates.
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Queen Camilla Attends Royal Maundy ServiceThe queen consort attended the Royal Maundy Service on March 28 in place of King Charles III, making her the first spouse of the Monarch to continue the ancient tradition.Kate Middleton Shares Cancer DiagnosisIn a March 22 video message, the Princess of Wales shared that she’d been diagnosed with cancer after undergoing abdominal surgery in January.”It was thought that my condition was non-cancerous. The surgery was successful,” she said before noting that tests after the operation found cancer had been present. “My medical team therefore advised that I should undergo a course of preventative chemotherapy and I am now in the early stages of that treatment.”Kate Middleton Apologizes for Edited Family Photo ControversyAfter photo agencies pulled the picture Kensington Palace shared of Kate since having her abdominal surgery on March 10, the Princess of Wales addressed claims the photo was doctored. “Like many amateur photographers, I do occasionally experiment with editing,” she tweeted on March 11. “I wanted to express my apologies for any confusion the family photograph we shared yesterday caused. I hope everyone celebrating had a very happy Mother’s Day. C.”Lady Kitty Spencer Privately Welcomes BabyPrincess Diana‘s niece celebrated Mother’s Day in the U.K. by sharing she and her husband Michael Lewis privately welcomed their first baby.“It’s the joy of my life to be your mummy, little one. I love you unconditionally,” she captioned her March 10 Instagram post. “Happy Mother’s Day to those who celebrate today.”Queen Camilla Takes a BreakAfter keeping up her full slate of engagements in the wake of her husband’s cancer diagnosis, the palace cleared Camilla’s schedule.The Times pointed out March 2 that the 76-year-old didn’t have any engagements on her calendar until March 11, when she’d be due at Westminster Abbey to observe Commonwealth Day.Thomas Kensington Dies at 45The husband of Lady Gabriella Windsor and ex-boyfriend of Pippa Middleton, was found dead Feb. 25. Days later, a coroner’s inquest found that he died by suicide.King Charles Diagnosed With CancerWhile King Charles III was in the hospital for his benign prostate enlargement procedure, the royal family member was diagnosed with cancer.”His Majesty has today commenced a schedule of regular treatments, during which time he has been advised by doctors to postpone public-facing duties,” Buckingham Palace said Feb. 5. “Throughout this period, His Majesty will continue to undertake State business and official paperwork as usual.The King is grateful to his medical team for their swift intervention, which was made possible thanks to his recent hospital procedure. He remains wholly positive about his treatment and looks forward to returning to full public duty as soon as possible.”Sarah Ferguson Is Diagnosed With a Second Type of CancerThe Duchess of York’s rep said in a statement on Jan. 21 that Sarah was recently diagnosed with malignant melanoma, an aggressive form of skin cancer. Several months prior, she underwent a single mastectomy to treat breast cancer.Queen Margrethe II of Denmark Abdicates the ThroneOn Jan. 14, Queen Margrethe II of Denmark made history as she officially abdicated the throne, handing the crown over to her son, now known as King Frederik the 10th. Kate Middleton Is HospitalizedKensington Palace announced on Jan. 17 that Kate Middleton underwent planned abdominal surgery and was set to remain in the hospital for 10 to 14 days.”Based on the current medical advice,” the Palace said, “she is unlikely to return to public duties until after Easter.”Prince William Adjusting His ScheduleAmid Kate’s recovery, Prince William postponed a number of engagements as he supported his family, including the couple’s three children, Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis.King Charles III Undergoing TreatmentShortly after Kate’s hospitalization was made public, Buckingham Palace shared that Charles “has sought treatment for an enlarged prostate.””His Majesty’s condition is benign and he will attend hospital next week for a corrective procedure,” the statement added. “The King’s public engagements will be postponed for a short period of recuperation.”Luxembourg Welcomes a New BabyPrincess Claire and Prince Felix of Luxembourgwelcomed son Balthazar Felix Karl on Jan. 7, the first royal baby of the New Year!
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