Prince Harry's statement has been deleted from the royal website (Image: Getty)
A statement made by Prince Harry against the British media about his wife, Meghan Markle, appears to have been taken down from the Royal Family's official website.
The statement, released by Kensington Palace in 2016 when the couple announced their relationship to the public, was the one which left King Charles and Prince William "furious" as it made them "look bad" for not defending their wives the same way, according to Prince Harry's memoir Spare.
Newsweek reported the link to the statement has stopped working, with the last functioning version of it being found on December 3, 2023.
The Duke of Sussex condemned the press for subjecting his then-girlfriend, Meghan Markle, to a "wave of abuse and harassment".
According to the statement, the couple were "a few months into a relationship" and it was "not right" that the duch*ess should be subjected to such treatment.
READ MORE: Meghan dealt major blow as top fashion designer rules out working with her
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle started dating in 2016 (Image: Getty)
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At the time, a number of newspapers ran stories on their front pages about the former Suits actress.
The statement issued by the prince's then-communications secretary, Jason Knauf, said: "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.
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"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.
"He has asked for this statement to be issued in the hopes that those in the press who have been driving this story can pause and reflect before any further damage is done.
"He knows that it is unusual to issue a statement like this, but hopes that fair-minded people will understand why he has felt it necessary to speak publicly."
Express.co.uk was able to confirm the URL associated with Prince Harry's statement no longer appears to be working, redirecting the visitor to search results on the royal website about the Duke and duch*ess of Sussex instead.
Kensington Palace and Buckingham Palace have been contacted for comment.
It comes as earlier this year Harry and Meghan had their individual sections removed from the "Members of the Royal Family" tab of the official royal website and replaced by a combined section that's been moved all the way down to the bottom, next to Prince Andrew.
They were previously listed between Prince Andrew and Princess Alexandra on the website.
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