About a week after the world first learned about Prince Harry’s relationship with Meghan Markle, Harry sent out a threatening letter to the media. The letter seemed to mostly be directed at the British press, although coverage of the letter was widespread. That was because it was the first time Harry had made a major public statement – in writing, no less – confirming a relationship and talking openly about his desire to protect his girlfriend. Harry’s letter was somewhat unprecedented as far as a royal figure extending some sort of “protection” for a royal girlfriend/boyfriend. So people did wonder: what did Prince William think about Harry’s move? There were some reports that William didn’t care for Harry’s passionate response, but Kensington Palace now says the Telegraph that William basically cosigned Harry’s effort:
The Duke of Cambridge gave Prince Harry his blessing to issue a controversial statement about alleged harassment of his girlfriend Meghan Markle, it emerged on Saturday. The two brothers had a heart to heart conversation about whether it was right to make a public plea to internet trolls to stop their “abuse” of Miss Markle, which also officially confirmed the Prince and Miss Markle were an item. Although the Duke is understood to have been wary of setting a precedent for confirming royal relationships, he agreed with his younger brother that the situation had gone too far and that something had to be done.
It was reported on Saturday that the Duke was unhappy with Prince Harry’s decision to go public, but Kensington Palace issued a statement at the Duke’s specific request to say that the opposite was true. It said: “The Duke of Cambridge absolutely understands the situation concerning privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him.”
The Duke, 34, never issued public statements about his love life, except on one occasion, before he began dating the Duchess of Cambridge, when his staff denied he was in a relationship with his friend Jecca Craig.
A royal source told The Telegraph: “They don’t issue statements like that without talking to each other, and they talked about the Meghan Markle statement extensively in advance of it being put out. The Duke was as alarmed as anyone about what was happening with Meghan. No-one wanted to have to put that statement out, including Prince Harry, and there was concern about confirming the relationship. But over the course of one weekend things escalated to the extent that Prince Harry felt he had to act.”
Another royal insider said: “There is just no way Prince Harry would have put that statement out if William had disapproved.”
Many thought Harry’s letter was a love token, a public declaration of his adoration for Meghan. Meaning, Harry was once again getting great press because he was showing the world he was in love, and he was being publicly demonstrative and chivalrous. And whenever Harry gets good press, William and Kate always look for some way to ride his coattails. That’s what I think this is – William being eager to look like he was involved in a decision that was publicly applauded. Did William actually cosign Harry’s actions? My guess is that in reality, Harry didn’t even tell Will about the letter.
As for Harry and Meghan… she’s reportedly back in LA, where she probably celebrated Thanksgiving with her family. People Magazine reported something curious too: apparently, Harry is spending most of his nights (while on tour of Caribbean islands) on a ship, the RFA Wave Knight. I have no idea why he can’t just stay at embassies or hotels, but apparently he’s hanging out with sailors night after night. And bad news, cell phone calls are restricted, so Harry and Meghan probably haven’t spoken to each other in more than a week. Here are some photos of Harry from his trip:
Photos courtesy of Getty, WENN.
‘William being eager to look like he was involved in a decision that was publicly applauded.’ – I disagree, I think William wants the family to display a united front, but he wasn’t happy about the letter.
I agree. The statement doesn’t say anything about the statement. It just says, basically, that he sympathises with Harry’s situation. “The Duke of Cambridge absolutely understands the situation concerning privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him.”
That picture with Harry holding a portrait of himself is TOO cute! Also think William was pissed about the positive press Harry received and had to do something about it.
This is all too much. ITs also overshadowing Harry’s tour.
God, I love him. For me, He can (nazi costume exception) do no wrong. This might/is ridiculous but his pictures with kids are like sunshine on this already rainy day
The initial article about William disapproving seemed like he was Mean Girling his brother -publicly undermining Harry’s reputation so that what Harry did wouldn’t be seen as protective or caring but impulsive and unstable. And I was surprised that William would let his name be attached to a story criticizing Harry. Whatever bad blood William and Charles have, Harry has always been supportive of William. Now that William has made it clear that publicly at least, he stands behind his brother, It makes me wonder who was responsible for the first story.
Did the press flat out lie about William’s opinion -which seems strange because William is completely likely to speak out if he thinks he’s being misrepresented. Or did someone near William who though they could persuade him to stay quiet or at least do some damage in the short term, put out the story to encourage bad press for Harry and Meghan?
I was wondering the same thing, and we know that the DM is a go-to source for Middleton leaks. This report comes after last week’s glowing (and also rather random) Carole Middleton article in People, and I sense that perhaps the Midds are not happy with the attention Harry is receiving.
I guess I missed what exactly was happening with Markle. They make it sound like she was under seige in Aleppo.
Nobody and nothing is going to stop Internet trolls. Particularly two princes who no one takes seriously at all. But sweet, yes.
I do believe they are presenting a united family front here. Who knows what happened behind the scenes.
I would post a link, suze, but I’m boycotting the Fail. Google “daily mail markle compton” and look at the top result for an example of what Harry was complaining about. Truly disgraceful.
Yeah, the DM commenters suck. Some of the stuff they post is so outrageous.
The fail is saying something else.
http://katemiddletonreview.com/2016/11/27/prince-william-thinks-harry-made-a-mistake-in-releasing-statement-on-meghan-markle/
Wow…some of the commenters on that site are just plain scary!
That one person nearly wrote a dissertation 😮
Totally agree, Lorelei, in contrast to CB, the Kate Review followers are mean, know it alls, with a few exceptions. The know it alls give you a lengthy history lesson each time someone comments. In real social settings we call them bores. Many of them should go get a life
Hmmm. A blog critical of Kate Middleton, and instead of ignoring it, you feel the need to take time to criticize it? And to criticize most of the posters, some of whom cross post here. We’ve lost a some good posters here (FLORC comes to mind), who migrated to KMR from CB.
KMR runs a tight ship and the community polices itself well. There are also many folks on there who are British and who know their history. I appreciate their contributions.
@nota Talking about tiaras makes you a mean know it all didn’t ya know?
The Telegraph article is damage control after the original article in the DM made William look like a dbag who doesn’t support his brother’s decisions and name called him in the process and called him weak and blamed Megan for Harry’s poor decision as William saw it.
Btw, you really have to search for the DM article now where it had received prominence on the first day it was posted.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-3972778/Prince-William-s-dismay-brother-Harry-s-hot-headed-public-plea-girlfriend-Meghan-Markle.html
Knowing how litigious William is, the DM would not have risked such an article for giggles regarding an heir, considering they have just been censured for writing crap about Beatrice, a minor royal.
And it must have touched upon a truth because the Telegraph denial came very swiftly and through official AP/KP channels.
Someone near William had to have endorsed that story. It was unusual to see William’s opinion being represented rather than the previous pattern of putting out a general story depicting Harry in a bad light
Based on the family’s history of throwing each other under the bus using direct quotes, i can believe this came directly from William.
The entire article is trying too hard to distance William from shenanigans whilst blaming said shenanigans on an uncontrollable Harry who is easily led by his new girlfriend.
The UK press is too cowered by William to quote him directly if the story had no legs.
And it’s the very specific denial in the follow up statement that lends credibility to the first one.
And if i may add, no one was expecting comments from William on Harry’s statements. All the papers wrote op-eds about Charles’s absence due to tour leaving Harry without wise counsel to deal with media storm pre-statement.
If Charles had sent out the first article, it would be expected.
OR William was stung into action by op-ed suggestion that he isn’t as wise as Charles in these matters.
So William is publicly chastising his brother while trying to evade the responsibility of being pompous enough to publicly chastise his brother?
You know, every time I think my opinion of William can’t get lower… I was really surprised that William publicly weighted in at all. He’d flip if someone did that to him.
The leaks in the Fail article are telling, the Cambridges (and the Middletons) are clearly against the relationship – primarily as its taking attention from them and makes them ALL look bad. Meghan and Harry are everything the Cambridges are not and that must sting like hell. He’s also basically leaking that Meghan has some sort of hold on Harry (a bit rich coming from a man who’s well under the thumb of his inlaws).
But then what do we expect from a man who allowed the press to rip apart his then GF and her family for years and said nothing while he watched it happened.
This Fail article is a subtle dig at the relationship and they are trying to sabotage it by insinuating that she is some sort of fameho/gold digger (Waity 2.0), as the usual Middleton trashing tactics are not working. I have always thought that part of that statement was aimed at the Mids/Cambridges and their PR games – the Fail is their go to leak rag, esp when they want to trash someone.
The Middleton PR is well, obvious!
I felt bad for Meghan. Being ripped apart officially whilst she’s only a GF. It can only get once if she joins the family.
I do to – she does seem like a nice, genuine person from what few interviews i have seen. These articles do seem to indicate the seriousness of it, well from Harry’s side at least.
I wonder what will happen if she does join the family – how will Harry react to protect her from the Cambridges/Middletons? He needs to distance himself from the Cambridges – why doesn’t he go back to using his fathers PR team?
Sounds like the Middletons went to the DM about how William really felt because the supergrandma articles weren’t working and then it backfired and he had to pretend he was fine with it. Or Carole overstepped her bounds and William had enough.
I feel for Meghan too, because the Middletons do not like that she is an independent woman who has held actual jobs and does charity work on the side, not because it is required as part of the Royal deal.
She is the breath of fresh air that Kate was supposed to be. And I am not going to condemn her for not deleting her social media accounts because she still has a life and career to lead and can’t become a hermit on the off chance she and Harry get engaged. Dedicating your entire adult life to catching a man, even if he is a prince is just bizarre and the Middleton family should not be the example to follow.
Nic919, I agree. I think she’d be criticized even more if she deleted her social media accounts, on the off-chance that their relationship progresses further. She’s trying to walk a fine line, continue her career, and not compromise her work (which includes her social media presence) for what might end up being a footnote in her personal life.
I did think it hilarious that Normal Bill was taking the stance that such pronouncements (against media not policing racist comments on their sites and internet bullying) shouldn’t be made. That they were somehow beneath the royals.
This from a man whose wife had the Palace issue a statement about her hair extensions – I mean childhood scar.
Wtf? Are you serious, NOTA? How did I miss this glorious moment in Cambridge history. Oh please do tell me more about the hair extensions press release!
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2054129/Kate-Middleton-scar-Childhood-op-left-mark-Duchess-Cambridges-head.html
If you look at the photos it obviously looks like badly concealed hair extensions. And has anyone seen that “scar” recently?
This was the early days in 2011 when people were still fooled.
Circling back to this thread. Thank you for posting that link, Nic919. My links never get through. Her go-to hair guy at that salon was known for doing the hair extensions. Soon after the visible “scar” he and the salon had a falling out.
I bet Grandpa had a shítfit, though.
Why?
Does this mean Harry and Meghan are going to get married and The Queen accepts? Or is this about William agreeing with privacy?
Kitty, as far as we know they’re just dating. We don’t even know if they feel that strongly about each other or if they’ve thought beyond the dating stage. If they do get engaged, I’m sure a public announcement will be made.
Well, if he wasn’t a Prince with all the attention that goes with it, he never would have gotten close to this girl anyway, so he should be happy with what he has
Prince Gingersnap is likely staying on a ship for security reasons. Trying to secure a perimeter around a hotel or embassy in most Caribbean countries might be quite challenging and would be a major inconvenience to the locals.
True.
And perhaps they’ve decided it’s a better option all round because i remember that Edward and Sophie stayed on a yacht during one of their recent tours of the carribean.
I don’t blame them for speaking out. They remember only too well the part that the press had in their mother’s tragic death.
Diana died because she got into a car driven by a drunk and she didn’t wear a seat belt.
I find this article … odd. Harry’s doing well on this tour. He’s not getting as much press as the Cambridges did for Canada, but he’s certainly getting more coverage than William did for Vietnam — even considering the disparity in duration. I think there was a discussion of the letter before it went out. I think Meghan had some input. I wonder if William allowed these articles to go out now to take away attention from how well Harry’s doing professionally. “Oh, my poor hot-headed brother. He still needs my protection” sort of a thing. He’s insulted Harry enough in the past to make this believable. And a lot of people did not think Harry should have written that letter. William could be playing up to them.
I seem to have woken up wearing a tin foil hat this morning.
Is this a large wooden spoon I see before me?
If you read both articles closely, they do not really contradict each other. The DM is more nuanced and starts to lay the blame at Meghan’s feet, which is an extraordinary move on KP’s part if you think about it because they are basically allowing that she had a lot to do with the statement. Apparently, Harry wasn’t happy with either this part of the article or the part that suggested he and Will weren’t united. Hence the telegraph article under the byline of someone on tour with him.
Regardless, this wasn’t William trying to screw Harry, IMO. This was a deliberate and calculated move to quell the behind the scenes shit storm and the public furor over how that KP statement went over–and regardless of what commenters here say, it has not been well received by the press it lambasted nor by the public it attempted to rally on its behalf. This is the Palace trying to say to the press “yes we hear you, our bad” whilst also beginning to lay the groundwork for Harry to extricate himself from a relationship that was never as serious–at least at that point–as the statement indicated. Whether or not Harry wants to be extricated from the relationship is, of course, the million dollar question.
I don’t think they will get married.
This was my take on the reasons for article one.
Article 2 was damage control because article 1 made William look bad and or Harrg had a hissy fit at how badly he was painted by article 1 and insisted on article 2 and making sure it was an official KP statement to walk back the damaging parts of article 1. The clue, article 2 was given to a reporter currently following him around the carribean.
I agree Kitty. I suspect the relationship is more media hype than reality. Time will tell.
Everytime I see any of the royals now, I begin to fume about the hundreds of millions that I and fellow hard working Brits will be shelling out to keep their butts all toasty, comfortable and warm. This is of course in addition to the growing “benefits” cost paid to majority of those who believe it is more of a benefit to “collect than work”. Yes, I am watching more of these benefit shows now, and they adamantly state that if the wage is not as much as they would like it to be, they wont work! I am so furious at both they and the royals. Think how wealthy this country would be without both!
Because Normal Bill did so much to protect Kate during the whole “Waity” mess. Oh, wait….
Prince William totally cosigned Harrys Meagan Markle defense….NOT
A Harry post! That means I have a reason to link to this on the KR instagram page 😀 It gave me much delight 😀
https://www.instagram.com/p/BNP5_7lA6Ey/?taken-by=kensingtonroyal
All the feels, for me. Dirty thoughts. Bad girl.