Meghan Markle and Prince Harry never “wanted to lead a more private life” by moving to the USA

(Image credit: Mike Coppola/Getty Images for 2022 Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala/Future)

published 10 December 2022

In their first official statement since the release of their Netflix documentary Harry & Meghan, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have corrected criticisms from British tabloids and revealed that leaving the UK had 'nothing' to do with them seeking more 'privacy'.

British tabloids have claimed that Harry and Meghan's Netflix docuseries contradicts Prince Harry's 2020 claim that the couple were stepping down as senior royals in a bid for added privacy and a 'more peaceful life.'
The couple have since released a statement revealing that their decision to leave the UK and step back as senior royals had 'nothing' to do with seeking more 'privacy.'
In other royal news, Prince Harry's 'insecurity' revealed by Body Language expert

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have released their first official statement, albeit via a spokesperson, since the release of their bombshell Netflix docuseries, Harry & Meghan.

The couple's spokesperson, Ashley Hansen, told The New York Times that Harry and Meghan's decision to step back as senior royals had 'nothing' to do with the pair seeking more 'privacy.'

According to Hansen, "Their statement announcing their decision to step back mentions nothing of privacy and reiterates their desire to continue their roles and public duties. Any suggestion otherwise speaks to a key point of this series."

The statement comes as a response to criticisms made by the British press, much of which states that, in 2020, Prince Harry said the couple were stepping back from royal duties to have a 'more peaceful life.'

In this 2020 speech, which Prince Harry made to the Sentebale charity, he explains, "Our hope was to continue serving the queen, the Commonwealth and my military associations without public funding. Sadly that wasn’t possible.

"I’ve accepted this knowing it doesn’t change who I am, or how committed I am. But I hope that helps you understand what it had come to, that I would step back from all I have ever known to take a step forward into what I hope can be a more peaceful life."

The British press have taken these 2020 comments to mean that Harry was looking for quietness and solitude when he and Meghan moved to the US. Since the release of the couple's controversial Netflix documentary, which charts the intimate ins and outs of their daily lives, the press have shunned the couple for putting themselves back in the spotlight and contradicting their previous statements.

But as their spokesperson, Hansen, shared with The New York Times, privacy was not the couple's intention and 'peaceful' is not synonymous with silence.

She explained, 'They are choosing to share their story, on their terms, and yet the tabloid media has created an entirely untrue narrative that permeates press coverage and public opinion. The facts are right in front of them'.

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Charlie Elizabeth Culverhouse is a news writer for Goodtoknow, specialising in family content. She began her freelance journalism career after graduating from Nottingham Trent University with an MA in Magazine Journalism, receiving an NCTJ diploma, and earning a First Class BA (Hons) in Journalism at the British and Irish Modern Music Institute. She has also worked with BBC Good Food and The Independent.