Prince Harry’s statement admonishing the British media for the “racial undertones of comment pieces” about Meghan Markle has been taken down from the royal family’s official website, Newsweek can reveal.

Harry instructed then Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf to issue a public broadside against the press in November 2016, just days after the Duke of Sussex’s relationship with Meghan became public knowledge.

For more than seven years, that lengthy and strongly worded statement was recorded for posterity on the royal.uk website, where the monarchy posts press releases, profiles, and official announcements.

Now, though, the link has stopped working, and the internet archive site Wayback Machine last successfully recorded a functioning version of it on December 3, 2023. A further attempt to archive the page on December 10 was unsuccessful, suggesting it was deleted some time in between.

It was a major moment in Harry’s life, as it was the first definitive indication of his now well-established desire to fight the press over its coverage of both himself and Meghan.

And in his book Spare, Harry said it left King Charles III and Prince William “furious,” because it made them look bad for not defending their own wives in the same way.

The now-deleted statement came days after an article in The Mail on Sunday proclaiming: “Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed—so will he be dropping by for tea?”

Kensington Palace released the statement on November 8, 2016, attributed to “the Communications Secretary to Prince Harry” which read: “The past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, 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.

“Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been 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.”

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in front of Buckingham Palace in a composite image. Harry’s statement in 2016 about “racial undertones” of stories about Meghan was deleted from the official royal family website. Chris Jackson/Getty Images

It is not entirely clear what precipitated its removal. Newsweek reached out to Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace for comment.

Earlier in 2024, Harry and Meghan’s profiles on the royal.uk site were compressed down from a 2,700-word profile of the prince and a 1,300-word profile of the duchess to a joint biography of just 577 words. The newer version does, however, remain online.

It is possible the statement was removed during a wider consolidation of Harry and Meghan-related content, though if it was purely a reaction to their decision to quit the palace, then it took almost four years to make the change.

An additional backdrop is provided by the continually deteriorating relationship between the Sussexes in America and the king and William in Britain, recently typified by the fact Charles and Harry did not meet during the duke’s visit to London this month.

In his book, Harry describes how Meghan was on her way to Britain to see him when his clap back to the media was released in 2016.

“By the time she landed at Heathrow my statement was everywhere,” he wrote. “And changing nothing. The onslaught continued.

“In fact, my statement generated a whole new onslaught—from my family. Pa
and Willy were furious. They gave me an earful. My statement made them look
bad, they both said. ‘Why in hell?’

“Because they’d never put out a statement for their girlfriends or wives when
they were being harassed.”

In an interview with Anderson Cooper for 60 Minutes in January 2023, promoting the book, he added further context: “What Meghan had to go through was similar in some part to what Kate and Camilla went through, [but] very different circumstances.

“But then you add in the race element, which was what the British press jumped on straight away,” Harry said.

“I went into this incredibly naive. I had no idea the British press were so bigoted. Hell, I was probably bigoted before the relationship with Meghan.”