--- description: The Royal Family has removed Prince Harry’s 2016 statement addressing the racist and sexist comments Meghan Markle received following public knowledge of the couple’s relationship from their website. title: Harry’s 2016 Statement About Comments Against Markle Deleted image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c0a720239e0a6e1/698a574ad075337ec9e70d4c/meghan.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [World](/section/world/) ## World Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [United Kingdom](/tag/united-kingdom/) ## United Kingdom Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Royal Family Removes Prince Harry’s 2016 Statement About 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Comments Against Meghan Markle ## Video: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Step Out in Nigeria With a Mission in Mind [Watch (HLS stream): Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Step Out in Nigeria With a Mission in Mind](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eFqn5l2J.m3u8) (0:50)  _Published 2024-05-10. Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion mental health for young people affected by conflicts and to promote the Invictus Games, which the prince founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans._  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter May 28, 2024 5:12 PM CUT  Britain's Prince Harry (2ndR), Duke of Sussex, and Britain's Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex, react as Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu (unseen), gives a speech at the State Governor House in Lagos on May 12, 2024. Britain's Prince Harry (2ndR), Duke of Sussex, and Britain's Meghan (R), Duchess of Sussex, react as Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu (unseen), gives a speech at the State Governor House in Lagos on May 12, 2024.KOLA SULAIMON—AFP/Getty Images  by [Solcyré Burga](/author/solcyre-burga/)  ## Solcyré Burga Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Reporter May 28, 2024 5:12 PM CUT The Royal Family has removed Prince Harry’s 2016 statement addressing the racist and sexist comments Meghan Markle received following public knowledge of the couple’s relationship from their website. The statement was released that November by Harry’s spokesperson following a “wave of abuse and harassment” Harry’s now-wife was facing from the British press and social media users. It was the first public confirmation of his relationship with Markle. Harry said then that he was worried about Markle’s safety, and called out the “racial undertones of comment pieces,” as well as the “outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.” Newsweek, which first reported the deletion of the statement, says the [statement was removed](https://www.newsweek.com/royals-delete-prince-harry-statement-king-charles-furious-racism-1904110 "undefined") at some point between Dec. 3, 2023 and Dec. 10\. 2023\. The statement also mentioned the private battles Markle had faced because of the media storm caused by her relationship, including legal fights to prevent “defamatory stories” from being printed, bribes from press to Markle’s exes, and “attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home.” “Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle’s safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her," the statement read. The decision to make a statement was heralded as shocking by many. Royal press strategy advised Harry, 39, to remain silent about the media attention, but Harry said he wanted to make “course correction” quickly, according to his memoir _Spare_. The decision had angered his father, King Charles, and brother, Prince William, who had never put out a statement in defense of their partners. Prince Harry and Markle, 42, stepped down as senior royals in [January 2020](https://time.com/5761547/prince-harry-meghan-markle-step-back-senior-royals/ "undefined"), with the initial idea to split their time between North America and the U.K. The royals had said they wished to become financially independent while supporting the Queen. In February 2021, the couple confirmed that they would not be returning as working members of the Royal Family. They currently live in California with their two children. They celebrated their sixth anniversary this month. ### More From TIME ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6982828/royal-family-prince-harrys-2016-statement-removed/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6982828/royal-family-prince-harrys-2016-statement-removed/"},"headline":"Royal Family Removes Prince Harry’s 2016 Statement About 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Comments Against Meghan Markle","datePublished":"2024-05-28T17:12:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-24T17:41:17.775Z","description":"The statement was released that November by Harry’s spokesperson following a “wave of abuse and harassment.\"","url":"https://time.com/6982828/royal-family-prince-harrys-2016-statement-removed/","keywords":["United Kingdom","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c0a720239e0a6e1/698a574ad075337ec9e70d4c/meghan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Solcyré Burga","jobTitle":"Reporter","url":"https://time.com/author/solcyre-burga/"}],"articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1c0a720239e0a6e1/698a574ad075337ec9e70d4c/meghan.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"NIGERIA-BRITAIN-ROYALS-INVICTUS-GAMES","caption":"NIGERIA-BRITAIN-ROYALS-INVICTUS-GAMES","creditText":"KOLA SULAIMON—AFP/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/united-kingdom/","name":"United Kingdom"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6982828/royal-family-prince-harrys-2016-statement-removed/","name":"Royal Family Removes Prince Harry’s 2016 Statement About 'Sexist' and 'Racist' Comments Against Meghan Markle"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Prince Harry and Meghan Markle Step Out in Nigeria With a Mission in Mind","description":"Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan, arrived in Nigeria on Friday to champion mental health for young people affected by conflicts and to promote the Invictus Games, which the prince founded to aid the rehabilitation of wounded and sick servicemembers and veterans.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/eFqn5l2J/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2024-05-10T14:09:48.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/eFqn5l2J.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/6982828/royal-family-prince-harrys-2016-statement-removed/","duration":"PT50S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/6982828/royal-family-prince-harrys-2016-statement-removed/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```