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Prince Harry hints at return to social media 'when it feels right'

Prince Harry has hinted at a return to social media, ten months after and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped away from their 10.4 million followers on their @sussexroyal Instagram account.

The Duke of Sussex opened up in a candid Q&A-style interview with tech publication Fast Company which touched on the toxic side of the digital world as well as the ‘harassment’ he and the Duchess have faced.

Harry, Meghan and their son Archie now call LA home. Photo: Youtube/Malala Fund
Prince Harry (pictured with wife Meghan during a recent Zoom appearance) has hinted at a return to social media. Photo: Youtube/Malala Fund

When asked how his personal opinion of social media has changed over the past few years, Harry, 36, took aim at the ‘false narrative’ that was developed and perpetuated online about him, Meghan and their relationship.

I was really surprised to witness how my story had been told one way, my wife’s story had been told one way, and then our union sparked something that made the telling of that story very different.

“That false narrative became the mothership for all of the harassment you’re referring to. It wouldn’t have even begun had our story just been told truthfully.”

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The Duke and Duchess hit back at their treatment at the hands of the British tabloid press by launching multiple legal claims over the past few years.

Meghan is suing Associated Newspapers for breach of privacy and copyright over the publication of a letter she wrote to her estranged father before she married Harry in 2018.

Schillings, the legal firm representing the couple, said at the time that the letter’s publication was “part of a campaign by this media group to publish false and deliberately derogatory stories about her, as well as her husband”.

Harry is separately suing British tabloid publishers News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers over alleged historical phone hacking.

Hugh Grant sticks up for Prince Harry and Meghan. Photo: Getty Images.
The Duke and Duchess stepped away from their @sussexroyal Instagram account in March 2020. Photo: Getty Images.

We’ll be back

Despite this, Harry revealed that the royal couple will reappear online in some form ‘when it feels right’.

“We will revisit social media when it feels right for us — perhaps when we see more meaningful commitments to change or reform,” he said.

“But right now we’ve thrown much of our energy into learning about this space and how we can help,” he added.

Harry explained that he and Meghan spent ‘much of 2020’ consulting with experts, advocates and policymakers in the online space to equip themselves with the knowledge to make meaningful change.

The father-of-one said that he was optimistic about building a healthier online ecosystem for his son Archie Harrison, who turns two in May.

“We have to believe in optimism because that’s the world and the humanity I want for my son, and all of us.

“We look forward to being part of the human experience — not a human experiment.”

The couple thanked their supporters in their final post on the @sussexroyal instagram account. Photo: Instagram/sussexroyal.
The couple thanked their supporters in their final post on the @sussexroyal Instagram account. Photo: Instagram/sussexroyal.

‘Content’ in LA

After cutting ties with the royal family and relocating to California last year, Harry and Meghan established their nonprofit foundation, Archewell, and launched the official website earlier this month.

The pair have already inked major deals with Netflix and begun a podcast, both of which are said to be worth significant sums of money.

While the duo is reportedly now ‘content’ with their LA lives, a lingering sadness about their separation from the royals remains according to Tom Bradby, a friend of the Prince and the journalist who filmed the famous ITV documentary with Harry and Meghan on their 2019 tour of South Africa.

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