The world was shocked when Prince Harry officially revealed that he was dating Meghan Markle in November 2016, after meeting just a few months prior. And King Charles was reportedly shocked about the announcement too, as he had only received 20 minutes notice that it was going to happen!
According to reports, King Charles had a whole range of emotions when his youngest son released a statement to confirm that he was dating the former Suits actress; and as well as being shocked, the King was reportedly “crushed” that the announcement took place when it did.
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Prince Harry Released A Statement To Confirm His Relationship With Meghan Markle For Her Own Protection
If you'll recall, Prince Harry released a statement via Kensington Palace to confirm that he had a new girlfriend. The statement wasn't to politely inform the press of his relationship, but rather, to beg for respect and privacy, as Meghan had been "subject to a wave of abuse and harassment."
The November 8th statement continued: "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."
The statement went on to confirm that Prince Harry "is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her." It also said that Prince Harry "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."
Even though Prince Harry felt he couldn't waste any time in releasing the statement for Meghan's own protection, King Charles was reportedly "crushed" that his son had released the statement when he did, as he felt it overshadowed an important meeting he was hoping would get a lot more press coverage.
King Charles, who was the Prince of Wales at the time, reportedly had an important meeting with the King of Bahrain amidst a sensitive tour in the Persian Gulf state. The meeting was intended to get a lot of press coverage, but it understandably was overshadowed by the news of Prince Harry's love life.
King Charles Was Reportedly 'Disappointed' Harry And Meghan's Relationship Announcement Overshadowed His Gulf Tour
According to Omid Scobie and Carolyn Durand's Finding Freedom book: "It was a critical moment that had been in the works for months. A statement from Kensington Palace condemning the press and, in the same breath, confirming Harry's new girlfriend would all but eliminate coverage of Prince Charles's tour of the Gulf."
"The team at Clarence House, which had spent months putting together Prince Charles' tour in the hopes that it would be covered significantly, was crushed," the book added.
However, the book also claimed that although the then Prince Charles was "disappointed" by the timing of the announcement, he "understood that the situation with Meghan had reached a tipping point."
