Prince Harry Confirms He Is Dating Actress Meghan Markle In One Powerful Statement

Unless you have been living under a rock, you will be aware that the rumor mills have been in overdrive lately over whispers that Prince Harry is dating American actress Meghan Markle. So heated has the speculations been that Markle and her family have seen themselves pretty much harassed by photographers, journalists and the Internet at large in the space of the last few weeks. Comments have been made about the actress' age (she is 35 and with that a couple of years older than her royal boyfriend), her family and even her race. And today, the young royal felt the need to publicly not only confirm his relationship with the actress, but also ask that we all –in the politest way possible – back the f**k off. Go Prince Harry. Here is the statement the Prince, through his Communications Secretary at Kensington Palace, issued earlier today:

Since he was young, Prince Harry has been very aware of the warmth that has been extended to him by members of the public. He feels lucky to have so many people supporting him and knows what a fortunate and privileged life he leads.

He has rarely taken formal action on the very regular publication of fictional stories that are written about him and he has worked hard to develop a professional relationship with the media, focused on his work and the issues he cares about. But the past week has seen a line crossed.His girlfriend, Meaghan 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. 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.