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Harry laughs off divorce rumours after Sussexes’ solo appearances

Harry appeared in conversation with Andrew Sorkin at The New York Times Dealbook Summit on Wednesday.

Laura Elston
Thursday 05 December 2024 15:24 EST
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Jordan Pettitt/PA)
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex (Jordan Pettitt/PA) (PA Archive)

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The Duke of Sussex has dismissed rumours that his marriage to the Duchess of Sussex is in trouble.

Harry, speaking to Andrew Sorkin at The New York Times Dealbook Summit on Wednesday, laughed off allegations on social media about his relationship with Meghan.

The couple have increasingly been pictured at separate public events over the last few months, as they focus on their own work initiatives.

The duke was at the summit in New York while Meghan posed for red carpet photos at a gala in Los Angeles.

Harry said: “Apparently we’ve bought or moved house maybe 10, 12 times.

“We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well.”

He added, laughing: “So it’s just like, what?”

The duke said: “It’s hard to keep up with but that’s why you just sort of ignore it.”

He added that he felt “genuinely” felt sorry for the trolls, whose “hopes are just built and built, and it doesn’t happen”.

Harry told Sorkin: “I have no doubt that everything that we’ve spoken about today in the last, clocks on zero, 25 minutes, will be spun or twisted somehow against me, and maybe you, yourself, will be trolled relentlessly, and for that I can only apologise.”

The King’s youngest son also spoke about his continued fight for mental health awareness, his life in the US, his philanthropic efforts, and his ongoing legal battles.

Harry said he planned to stay in the US, saying: “I very much enjoy living here and bringing my kids up here.”

He said he, Meghan, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet are afforded a level of privacy in the US, as well as a life of activities his children “undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the UK” because of security concerns.

The duke talked about his life in the spotlight and about his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car crash while being chased by the paparazzi in 1997.

“I think, again, when you are kind of trapped within this bubble, it kind of feels like there’s no way out,” Harry said.

“What happened to my mum and the fact that I was a kid and felt helpless, there comes the inner turmoil. I felt helpless.

One of my biggest weaknesses is feeling helpless.”

The duke added that what worried him most was whether what happened to his mother “would happen to me, or to my wife, or was that going to happen to my kids?”.

He said therapy had been a “blessing”, adding: “To a certain degree, I made peace with some of the past.

“But what it really did was open my eyes and open my perspective on how to be able to resolve the inner war, the inner turmoil, for myself.”

He vowed not to settle his claim against the publisher of The Sun, as his High Court case is due to go to trial in January, saying he was pursuing “truth and accountability”.

Harry is one of just two people continuing their claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN), as the duke alleges he was the target of unlawful information gathering by journalists and private investigators working for NGN, which also published the now-defunct News Of The World.

The duke said some 1,300 people had settled their claims, adding: “They’ve settled because they’ve had to settle. So therefore, one of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that.”

The publisher has previously denied unlawful activity took place at The Sun.

The duke is also appealing against the dismissal of his High Court challenge against the Home Office over a decision to change the level of his personal security when he visits the UK.

“I never should have had security removed in the first place,” he told Sorkin.

Harry said he had become “professional” at litigation.

“It’s amazing when you go through this litigation, which I have become professional at, of which I aim to retire fairly soon in that regard,” he said.

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