In his memoir Spare, Prince Harry revealed he believed he had “infected” Meghan Markle and her mother, Doria Ragland, with a “contagion” from his life. Getting to know each other was more demanding, thanks to a curious and sometimes hateful press. But things got so chaotic, he had to do something to send a message to the world. Here’s what he said about it.
Prince Harry felt he ‘infected’ Meghan Markle and her mother with his life as a royal
In the early days of their romance, Harry felt the press was unfairly harsh on Meghan because they wanted him to respond. Then, in theory, they could start speculating wildly about the nature of the relationship. He considered suing over some of the stories but said he realized that would play into an agenda.
“They were hungry for me to sue because if I sued that would confirm the relationship, and then they could really go to town,” he revealed in Spare. Feeling like he had no options to fight back against the press, he was “wild with rage,” which turned to “guilt.”
“I’d infected Meg, and her mother, with my contagion, otherwise known as my life,” Harry lamented. “I’d promised her that I’d keep her safe, and I’d already dropped her into the middle of this danger.”
Prince Harry said palace courtiers blocked him from responding to hate against Meghan Markle
According to Harry, palace courtiers blocked his attempts to arrange to “do something” to help Meghan. He disclosed in Spare that the general attitude was, “Nothing can be done … therefore, nothing will be done.”
Harry eventually released a statement through his communications secretary that read, in part, “… Meghan Markle has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment. Some of this has been very public …”
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“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.”
According to Spare, this statement made King Charles and Prince William “furious” with Harry. “They gave me an earful,” he shared. “My statement made them look bad, they both said.”
Prince Harry feared for Meghan Markle’s safety
The statement from Harry’s communications secretary revealed to the world he was “worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and … deeply disappointed that he [was not] 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,” it read.
The “protective” husband revealed in Spare that the statement changed “nothing” to help the situation, and “the onslaught continued.”
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