Before their 2018 royal wedding, the Duke of Sussex was compelled to inquire of his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle about her previous relationships.
Prince Harry explained that after the relationship became known, the former Suits actress faced a huge media frenzy as reporters dug into her marriage to Trevor Engelson and her other relationships. Harry asked the Duchess to elaborate on their relationship after it was claimed that they had a “torrid affair” with a hockey player who was depicted on her since-deleted Instagram page.
God, they were already looking at her first marriage and digging into her past, he wrote in his candid autobiography Spare, which was published in January 2023. Never mind that my aunt, Princess Anne, was a remarried divorcee, or that my father, a divorcee, was currently married to a divorcee – the list went on. The British press described divorce in 2016 as “a scarlet letter.”
In September 2011, Meghan wed American actor and producer Trevor on a private beach in Jamaica. Two years later, however, Meghan and Trevor’s marriage ended due to “irreconcilable differences,” which led to a no-fault divorce.
“Next The Sun combed through Meg’s social media, found an old picture of her with a friend and a pro hockey player, and spun a complex tale about Meg and the hockey player having an illicit relationship. He continued, “I asked Meg about it, and she said, ‘No, he was hooking up with my friend. I welcomed them.
Private investigators, according to Harry, “were experts on her background and boyfriends,” and as a result, “every word they’d written about her and the hockey player was hot garbage,” he continued.
After the story wasn’t taken down, Prince Harry admitted he felt “wild with rage” and wanted to sue, but his lawyers advised him against doing so. He went on to become fiercely protective of his future wife.
Both the Duke and the Duchess’ engagement in November 2017 and their wedding at Windsor Castle in May 2018 drew a lot of attention from around the world. He alleged that some members of the royal family believed their partners went through the same thing when their relationships became public in the Netflix docuseries Harry & Meghan, and he questioned the need for Meghan to be shielded from the media.
It resembled a rite of passage in some ways. Some family members expressed the opinion that since my wife also experienced hardship, there is no justification for treating your girlfriend any differently.
“Why should you be treated differently? Why does she need to be protected? The element of race makes a difference in this case, according to Harry.
