Prince Harry took the unprecedented step on Tuesday of issuing a heartfelt statement on Twitter in which he pleaded for his “girlfriend” Meghan Markle to be left alone. The letter was extraordinary in not only confirming his relationship with the 35-year-old actress, but also for its direct appeal to the public to maintain some measure of privacy less than two weeks after the couple’s relationship was made public.
Actress Meghan Markle
The dramatic statement, sent out by the prince’s spokesman at Kensington Palace, said the prince is worried about Markle’s safety after she and her family were bombarded by the international media after news of the couple’s secret relationship was reported in a British tabloid.
Sources close to Harry say he is disappointed that news of their romance was leaked to a newspaper and “incandescent” that Markle, a 35-year-old divorcée, has been subjected to such a level of harassment. In particular the prince is said to be upset that some media publications have focused on Miss Markle’s ethnicity. Her mother is African American and her father is white.
“Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her,” Kensington Palace said. “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.”
Markle’s mother, Doria Ragland, 60, is a social worker and yoga therapist, and was besieged by media at her home in Los Angeles last week. (Her father Thomas is a retired lighting director.) When told recently by a reporter that her daughter would make history if she did marry Prince Harry—becoming the first mixed-race woman ever to join the Royal Family—her mother Ragland simply chuckled and declined to comment.
While her family have remained tight-lipped about the romance, Prince Harry, who is in daily contact with his girlfriend, is said to be concerned that Markle is being subjected to a smear campaign. Last week one tabloid newspaper revealed that racy images of Ms. Markle, who plays Rachel Zane in the USA Network’s Suits, had been posted on a porn Web site.
According to Kensington Palace, “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.”
Sources close to Markle who is currently filming the next season of Suits in Toronto, say she is dealing with the pressure well but is finding the global interest “overwhelming.”
One friend told Royal Watch: “We all love Meghan—she’s a wonderful girl but the pressure is beginning to get to her. She is rather overwhelmed but she’s a tough cookie and she can deal with this. We just want the newspapers to be nice about her because she is genuinely a wonderful girl.”
The prince started secretly dating Markle after being introduced to her in May through a mutual friend. Since then she has visited Prince Harry in England twice: once in September and once in October. Last week, Harry flew to Toronto where he and Markle were holed up in her apartment and enjoyed a Halloween party at Soho House. The actress is planning to fly to London later this month before Harry heads to the Caribbean where he is carrying out a two-week-long tour on behalf of the Queen.
One veteran royal photographer, who asked not to be named, said that Prince Harry’s tactic of going public about the romance could backfire.
“The problem is this has ignited more interest,” the photographer said. “Harry’s behind this unprecedented press release and the problem is this will trigger even more interest. The story is amazing: the British prince and the Hollywood star. It’s unlikely that the media interest is going to die down because there’s still so much excitement about the relationship and we’ve still not seen them photographed together.”
