Prince Harry's "Despair" at Online Trolls "Trying to Make Trouble" For His Family Is Understandable, Says Royal Expert

"He says he is happy. I believe him."

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Prince Harry wears a black Invictus Games polo shirt and gazes adoringly at his wife, Meghan Markle, who is wearing a dark red V-neck top
(Image credit: Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

During an appearance at The New York Times 2024 DealBook Summit last week, Prince Harry addressed divorce rumors regarding his wife, Meghan Markle. Now, a royal expert has weighed in on the Duke of Sussex's understandable decision to express frustration about online trolls trying to harm his family.

"Harry is stubborn," former BBC royal correspondent Jennie Bond told OK! magazine. "And he is also understandably damaged by what happened to his mother. Who can blame him for being so protective about his wife and children?"

When it comes to defending his family against internet trolls, Bond believes Prince Harry has been doing the right thing. "I have some sympathy with his despair about the media... and social media in particular, with the trolls who peddle unsourced nonsensical rubbish about his marriage," she told the outlet.

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Meghan Markle wears a white jacket with black piping and matching shorts with flat pumps and black T-shirt, and holds hands with husband Prince Harry, who wears jeans and a black polo shirt

"I have some sympathy with his despair about the media," Bond explained.

(Image credit: Getty Images/Samir Hussein/WireImage)

Ultimately, Prince Harry's marriage to Duchess Meghan is no-one else's business, and the general public has no real insight regarding what their lives are really like. "He says he is happy," Bond explained. "I believe him. Let's stop trying to make trouble in a marriage we know nothing about."

While speaking to DealBook founder Andrew Ross Sorkin at the New York summit on Dec. 4, Harry called constant speculation about his marriage "definitely not a good thing." He continued, "Apparently we've bought or moved house 10, 12 times. We've apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it's just like, what?"

Meghan Markle wearing a tan coat and black dress with black Rothy's flats holding hands with Prince Harry walking past fans and waving

"He says he is happy," Bond explained. "I believe him."

(Image credit: Getty Images)

The Duke of Sussex also understands that rumors move quickly. "It's hard to keep up with, but that's why you just sort of ignore it," he noted at the summit. "The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls." Explaining why, Harry said, "Their hopes are just built and built, and it's like, 'Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,' and then it doesn't happen. So I feel sorry for them. Genuinely, I do."

Amy Mackelden
Amy Mackelden
Weekend Editor

Amy Mackelden is the weekend editor at Marie Claire, where she covers celebrity and royal family news. She was the weekend editor at Harper’s BAZAAR for three years, where she covered breaking celebrity and entertainment news, royal stories, fashion, beauty, and politics. Prior to that, she spent a year as the joint weekend editor for Marie Claire, ELLE, and Harper's BAZAAR, and two years as an entertainment writer at Bustle. Her additional bylines include Cosmopolitan, People, The Independent, HelloGiggles, Biography, Shondaland, Best Products, New Statesman, Heat, and The Guardian. Her work has been syndicated by publications including Town & Country, Good Housekeeping, Esquire, Delish, Oprah Daily, Country Living, and Women's Health. Her celebrity interviews include Jennifer Aniston, Jessica Chastain, the cast of Selling Sunset, Emma Thompson, Jessica Alba, and Penn Badgley. In 2015, she delivered an academic paper at Kimposium, the world's first Kardashian conference.