Prince Harry Talked to Another Royal About His Desire for Privacy
In a new interview with People, Prince Albert defended Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's approach to privacy.
The Monaco royal said he "completely understands" where the Duke and Duchess of Sussex are coming from and shared the advice he offered Harry when they met in person at the World Cup Rugby final in Japan earlier this month.
For more than a year now, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been fighting to redefine the public's expectations of royal privacy. For example, they moved out of Kensington Palace for Frogmore Cottage in Windsor, and are suing publications for allegedly violating news-gathering tactics like intercepting a personal letter or phone hacking.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's crusade for greater privacy has been a lightning rod for controversy among royal watchers, but the couple have found at least one high profile supporter in Prince Albert of Monaco.
In a new interview with People, Prince Albert reacted to Harry's surprisingly candid comments on invasive media coverage in his and Meghan's recent documentary and the British royal's decision to take legal action against certain media outlets.
"I completely understand his reasons," said Albert, who met privately with Harry earlier this month when both royals attended the World Cup Rugby final in Japan.
"He has said he feels 'bullied,' and I can understand and sympathized with him over that," the 61-year-old monarch explained. "We didn’t talk about it that much, because we talked about environment-related issues—and the rugby too—but I sympathized with him, saying, ‘Just do what you have to do to ensure your privacy.'"
During the brief meeting, Albert said he expressed "my support and my sympathy" and advised Harry that "sometimes you just have to ignore it and move on. Sometimes you can ignore whoever is out there that’s being too inquisitive or too hard on you."
Prince Albert explained that he agrees wholeheartedly with Harry and Meghan's policy of protecting their family's privacy—particularly against the notoriously biting tabloid media.
"You have to protect your personal life, your family and their intimacy as much as possible, whenever possible. Especially when you’re a public figure with appearances to attend. Of course, that’s harder to do than to say," Albert said. "And it’s especially difficult with the British press, which is so inquisitive, so harsh. Not only on the royal family but on other celebrities and other public figures as well."
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