His strongly-worded statement aimed at protecting his then girlfriend Meghan has been quietly deleted by the Royal Family.

One royal expert claims that Harry won’t be happy his statement has been deleted (Image: Getty)Prince Harry has had a “very upsetting shock” after his strongly worded defence of wife Meghan Markle was quietly deleted by the Royal Family.

The Duke of Sussex issued the statement against the press in November 2016 as he raged at the media for “racial undertones” in regards to his then girlfriend Meghan. But in a surprising move Harry’s staunch defence has been removed from royal.co.uk after seven years.

Now, royal author Tom Quinn, claims the removal was a “very upsetting shock” for Harry.

Speaking exclusively to The Mirror, he said: “The statement was a scathing attack on the press and King Charles knows that he needs to keep the press on the side and work with rather than against the media.

“For Harry removing the statement will be a real and very upsetting shock – he will see this as the Royal Family shutting him down, erasing an important part of the anti-media crusade Harry has waged for so long.”

Prince Harry and Duchess Meghan have recently been to Nigeria (Image: Getty)

Tom says Harry would have wanted the statement to remain on the Royal website “as a permanent reminder that Meghan and Harry are victims not aggressors.”

Harry’s statement was released by former Kensington Palace communications secretary Jason Knauf days after Harry’s relationship with Meghan was made public.

It came following an article in The Mail on Sunday which read: “Harry’s girl is (almost) straight outta Compton: Gang-scarred home of her mother revealed—so will he be dropping by for tea?”

The statement read: “His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.

“Some of this has been very public – the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.

“Some of it has been hidden from the public – the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.”

Meanwhile, it’s been reported that Prince Harry “can’t believe” he’s not in the VIP category that would afford him automatic state security as his legal row with the UK government rolls on, an expert claims.

News broke this week that the Prince has been given the green light to appeal a case he lost in the High Court against the Home Office, which downgraded his protection detail after he stepped back as a senior royal in 2020.