The Royal Family appears to be initiating a process to erase Prince Harry and Meghan Markle from their history, according to a royal expert.
The Duke of Sussex issued a strongly worded statement in November 2016, condemning certain media pieces for their "racial undertones" just days after his relationship with Meghan Markle became public. This statement, released by Kensington Palace, remained on the royal.co.uk website for over seven years until it was unexpectedly removed last week.
Royal author and expert Tom Quinn told The Mirror that the Royal Family had "long wanted to remove the statement" and is attempting to "gradually expunge" the Duke and Duchess of Sussex from royal history.
"Removing Prince Harry’s 2016 statement about Meghan from the royal website tells us a lot about how the senior royals are determined to forget the past—and Prince Harry’s part in it," Quinn said. "The statement was an attack on the press for writing about his then-girlfriend Meghan Markle in a way that Harry thought was deeply unfair, but if Harry wrote the statement, it was very much inspired by Meghan."
Before his relationship with Meghan, Harry was one of the country's most eligible bachelors, having had two public relationships with Chelsy Davy and Cressida Bonas.
"Harry’s previous girlfriends had always been subject to huge press speculation, and Harry knew this just went with being a royal or being the girlfriend of a royal," Quinn continued. "He was surprised and delighted when Meghan insisted they should fight back, and they have been fighting back ever since."
Quinn insists the royals' decision to remove the statement hints at a larger motive. "The senior royals’ plan is to gradually expunge Harry and Meghan from royal history," Quinn claims.
"They have long wanted to remove the statement but needed to do it during a quiet time to reduce the chances of Harry and Meghan crying foul and claiming they were yet again being punished."