Prince Harry set the record straight on Wednesday amidst intense speculation surrounding the state of his marriage to Meghan Markle after the pair haven’t been spotted together since mid-August.
The Prince addressed the rumors while attending the New York Times 2024 DealBook Summit, where he spoke to NYT columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin about the public’s fascination with his marriage to Meghan.
“I Google Newsed you, and there were people fascinated by everything you’re doing all the time,” Andrew asked as he approached the topic on stage, per People.
“They’re fascinated by Meghan, who is in California right now, and you’re here. And there’s articles left and right about, you know, ‘Why are you making, doing independent events? Why aren’t you doing them together?'”
Harry quickly quipped, “Because you invited me, you should have known!”
Andrew continued: “Is that a good thing for you, in a way, that there’s so much interest in you?”
© Eugene Gologursky“No, that’s definitely not a good thing,” the father of two replied. “Apparently, we’ve bought or moved house 10, 12 times. We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it’s just like, what?'”
Harry, who spoke at the summit about media misinformation and the dangers of the digital world, revealed that the only way to deal with the rumours was to simply ignore them.
“It’s hard to keep up with, but that’s why you just sort of ignore it. The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls,” he said.
© Eugene Gologursky“Their hopes are just built and built, and it’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and then it doesn’t happen. So I feel sorry for them. Genuinely, I do.”
He went on to say that his words at the summit would “no doubt” be twisted against him, for which he jokingly apologised to the columnist.
Ignoring the online trolls helps him to achieve his “main goal”, which is “being the best husband and dad” he can be, Harry said on stage.
© Chris JacksonNo stranger to the dangers of the press after his mother Diana’s tragic death in 1997, he explained how damaging misinformation has been for him growing up in the public eye.
“I’ve had a lived experience since I was a kid. I’ve seen stories written about myself that aren’t exactly based on reality,” he said.
“I’ve seen stories about members of my family, friends, strangers, all sorts of people. And I think when you grow up within that environment, you do find yourself questioning the validity of the information but also what other people are thinking of that as well, and how dangerous it can be over the course of time.”
© Michael M. SantiagoWhile the 40-year-old is in New York for the summit, his wife of over six years is busy on the opposite coast preparing for the 2024 Paley Honors Fall Gala in Beverly Hills.
Back at their Montecito home are their two children, Archie, five, and Lilibet, three; Harry told Andrew at the summit that raising them in the US was the right decision for their family.
“I very much enjoy living here and bringing up my kids here,” he said before explaining that his children have the freedom to do things that they “undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the U.K.”
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