Senior Aides Allegedly Warned Prince Harry Against His Emotionally Charged Statement Defending Meghan Markle

Prince Harry{ =nofollow}shocked the world earlier this week when he made an emotionally charged statement about the treatment by the press of his wife, Meghan. However, it’s now been revealed – in The Times – that the rebuttal wasn’t welcomed by some of Harry’s most senior aides.

The paper reports that the Prince wrote the statement entirely himself, without the help of anyone on his team, including Sara Latham, the couple’s communications secretary and Samantha Cohen, their private secretary. They add that ‘royal aides were visibly embarrassed’ yesterday following the fallout.

Harry’s statement was issued as it was revealed that the duchess is taking legal action against The Mail on Sunday for publishing a letter to her father. The Times reports that the release date of the statement was decided by the filing of the case at the High Court. The release of the statement meant overshadowing the last day of the couple’s royal tour.

In the statement, Prince Harry speaks about how painful the experience of being written about negatively has been: '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.'

The most emotionally charged section of the statement comes when Harry seemingly likens the treatment of Meghan by the press to the treatment of his late mother, Princess Diana{ =nofollow}.

'There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives,’ he writes. ‘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.’

A legal spokesperson for Schillings, the Lae firms that currently represent The Duchess, said: 'We have initiated legal proceedings against the Mail on Sunday, and its parent company Associated Newspapers, over the intrusive and unlawful publication of a private letter written by the Duchess of Sussex, which is part of a campaign by this media group to publish false and deliberately derogatory stories about her, as well as her husband. Given the refusal of Associated Newspapers to resolve this issue satisfactorily, we have issued proceedings to redress this breach of privacy, infringement of copyright and the aforementioned media agenda'.

As for the costs associated with the lawsuit, the statement says, ‘the case is being privately funded by The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Pending a Court ruling, proceeds from any damages will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.'

Take a look at some of the outfits Meghan Markle wore on the South Africa tour below.