Prince Harry has come out swinging today against the press and the persistent negativity surrounding his wife, Meghan Markle. The Duke of Sussex released a lengthy statement in the early hours of this morning, calling out the British tabloid press over their "ruthless" campaign against the Duchess of Sussex, which he says "has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son."
Watch Below: Meghan Markle Gives Powerful Speech.
Harry revealed the couple is taking legal action against a publication which leaked a letter written by Meghan Markle, writing in reference to his mother, Princess Diana's, death that his "deepest fear is history repeating 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," he wrote. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces."
The statement begins: "As a couple, we believe in media freedom and objective, truthful reporting. 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.
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," it continues.
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. 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.
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. 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. 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.
The statement ends with: "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. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this.
Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. Because my deepest fear is history repeating 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.
We thank you, the public, for your continued support. It is hugely appreciated. Although it may not seem like it, we really need it."
