Meghan Markle & Prince Harry End Relationship with U.K Tabloids for Running Stories that Are ‘Distorted, False, or Invasive Beyond Reason’

Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have a new policy of “zero engagement” when it comes to a few major U.K. tabloids. 

On Sunday, the couple sent a letter to the editors of The Sun, Daily Mail, Mirror and Express revealing that they will no longer respond to any inquiries from their reporters.

“As The Duke and Duchess of Sussex now settle into the next chapter of their lives and no longer receive any publicly funded support, we are writing to set a new media relations policy, specifically as it pertains to your organisation,” the letter begins. “Like you, The Duke and Duchess of Sussex believe that a free press is a cornerstone to any democracy — particularly in moments of crisis. At its best, this free press shines a light on dark places, telling stories that would otherwise go untold, standing up for what’s right, challenging power, and holding those who abuse the system to account.”

The duo opened up about the negative portion of the media, where “power is enjoyed without responsibility.”

“It is gravely concerning that an influential slice of the media, over many years, has sought to insulate themselves from taking accountability for what they say or print—even when they know it will be distorted, false, or invasive beyond reason,” the couple continued. “When power is enjoyed without responsibility, the trust we all place in this much-needed industry is degraded.”

Meghan and Harry also reassured that this new policy is not about “avoiding criticism” nor does it apply to all media. They also stated that they look forward to “working with journalists and media organizations all over the world.”

“With that said, please note that The Duke and Duchess of Sussex will not be engaging with your outlet. There will be no corroboration and zero engagement. This is also a policy being instated for their communications team, in order to protect that team from the side of the industry that readers never see,” the letter reads. “This policy is not about avoiding criticism. It’s not about shutting down public conversation or censoring accurate reporting. Media have every right to report on and indeed have an opinion on The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, good or bad. But it can’t be based on a lie. They also want to be very clear: this is not in any way a blanket policy for all media.”

The letter comes after the first hearing in Markle’s legal case from October 2019, when Markle sued the Mail on Sunday over the newspaper's "ruthless" campaign against the duchess. Her legal action was specifically in regard to the paper's publishing of a private handwritten letter that she sent to her father, Thomas Markle, a week before her royal wedding. 

Prince Harry published a statement to the official SussexRoyal website (which no longer exists), stating his “deepest fear is history repeating itself,” referring to his late mother, Princess Diana. And in this new letter, the couple seems to once again make reference to her. 

“The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have watched people they know—as well as complete strangers—have their lives completely pulled apart for no good reason, other than the fact that salacious gossip boosts advertising revenue.”

Looks like these two really aren’t messing around.