The Duke of Sussex was forced to ask his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle about her dating history ahead of their royal wedding in 2018.
After news of their relationship went public, Prince Harry explained that there was a huge media storm around the former Suits actress with the press digging into her marriage with Trevor Engelson and her other past relationships. After it was suggested that the Duchess had a "torrid affair" with a hockey player who was pictured on her now-deleted Instagram page, Harry asked her to clarify their relationship.
WATCH: Prince Harry claims royals asked why Meghan Markle should be "protected" after news of their relationship went public
"God, they were already into her past and looking at her first marriage," he wrote in his tell-all memoir, Spare, which hit the shelves in January 2023. "Never mind that my father, a divorcé, was currently married to a divorcée, or my aunt, Princess Anne, was a remarried divorcée - the list went on. Divorce in 2016 was deemed by the British press to be a scarlet letter."
Meghan married American actor and producer Trevor on a private beach in Jamaica in September 2011, but just two years later, Meghan and Trevor's marriage was dissolved in a no-fault divorce after citing "irreconcilable differences".
The press researched Meghan's past relationships, including her marriage with Trevor
"Next The Sun combed through Meg’s social media, discovered an old photo of her with a friend and a professional hockey player, and created an elaborate yarn about Meg and the hockey player having a torrid affair. I asked Meg about it," he said and added that Meghan's response was: "No, he was hooking up with my friend. I introduced them."
Harry explained that private investigators "were experts on her background and boyfriends" and it was therefore well-known that "every word they'd written about her and the hockey player was hot garbage."
Harry said he was "wild with rage" over the false allegations about Meghan's relationship with a hockey player
Understandably, Prince Harry went on to become fiercely protective of his future wife, admitting he felt "wild with rage" and wanted to sue after the story wasn't removed, but was advised not to by his lawyers.
The Duke and the Duchess got engaged in November 2017 and married at Windsor Castle in May 2018 - both of which garnered huge interest worldwide. In the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, he claimed some of the royal family felt their partners had the same experience when their relationships became public and questioned why Meghan should be protected from the press.
The royals got married in 2018
"It was almost like a rite of passage. Some of the members of the family was like but my wife had to go through so why should your girlfriend be treated any differently?
"Why should you get special treatment? Why should she be protected? The difference here is the race element," Harry explained.
DETAILS: Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's ultra-private marriage away from the cameras after May 2018 wedding
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