Originally appeared on E! Online
Prince Harry will not spare the risk of Meghan Markle‘s safety.
That’s why the Duke of Sussex is reluctant to bring his wife of six years — with whom he shares son Archie Harrison, 5, and daughter Lilibet “Lili” Diana, 3 — back to the United Kingdom. Markle has only visited the U.K. a handful of times since her and Prince Harry’s 2020 relocation to the United States, with the most recent being her attendance at Queen Elizabeth II‘s funeral in 2022.
“It’s still dangerous,” he said of the British tabloids’ coverage on the couple in a recent ITV interview, “and all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff to act on what they have read.”
He continued, “And whether it’s a knife or acid, whatever it is, and these are things that are of genuine concern for me. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”
In fact, the Prince believes that “anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press,” which he said further puts Markle and their kids’ safety at risk.
“They pushed me too far,” he noted, explaining why he took Mirror Group Newspapers — which oversees The Mirror, The Sunday Mirror and The People — to U.K. court. “It got to a point where you’re damned if you do and you’re damned if you don’t. But I don’t think there’s anybody in the world better suited and placed to be able to see this through than myself.”
Prince Harry came out victorious against the publisher. Last year, a judge in London’s High Court ruled there was “extensive” phone hacking by the company from 2006 to 2011 and that Prince Harry’s devices were likely hacked “to a modest extent.”
The “Spare” author and MGN reached a settlement earlier this year, with the publisher agreeing to cover legal costs and damages, as well as an interim payment of approximately $505,000 for invading his privacy, according to his attorney David Sherborne.
Still, Prince Harry’s clash with British tabloids has taken a toll on his life, particularly his strained relationship with dad King Charles III and brother Prince William. As he explained to ITV, the royal family’s unwillingness to push back against tabloids is a “central piece” of their rift.
“I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done, it would be nice if we did it as a family,” He shared. “I believe that from a service standpoint and when you’re in a public role, these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good.”
He added, “For me, the mission continues, but yes, it’s caused part of a rift.”
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are making a three-day visit to Nigeria! The couple began their trip by attending a mental health summit at a local school.