On Wednesday, Dec. 4, Prince Harry made an appearance at The New York Times 2024 DealBook Summit, where he got candid about many aspects of his life. As well as advising other people to never Google themselves, the Duke of Sussex touched on rampant rumors regarding his relationship with Meghan Markle.
Prince Harry joined DealBook founder Andrew Ross Sorkin onstage at the event in New York, and the royal wasn't afraid to open up about his personal life. "I Google Newsed you, and there were people fascinated by everything you're doing, all the time," Sorkin told Harry (via People).
"They're fascinated [that] Meghan is in California right now, and you're here," Sorkin told the royal. Duchess Meghan, of course, stepped out in Beverly Hills on Wednesday night for the Paley Honors Tribute to Tyler Perry. Sorkin continued, "And there's articles left and right about, you know, 'Why are you making, doing independent events? Why aren't you doing them together?'"
Responding to Sorkin's comments, Harry exclaimed, "Because you invited me, you should have known!"
Sorkin then asked the Duke of Sussex whether an intense level of speculation was "normal" for him. The columnist said, "The second there's an article—she's in California, you're in New York—they say, 'Well, what is happening with these two, right?' Is that a good thing for you, in a way, that there's so much interest in you?"
Prince Harry used the opportunity to set the record straight about the status of his marriage to Meghan, with whom he shares children Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet. "No, that's definitely not a good thing," Harry explained. "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?"
Noting that the gossip moves quickly, and is very often untrue, the Duke said, "It's hard to keep up with, but that's why you just sort of ignore it. The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls." He continued, "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."
Harry also noted that his appearance at the DealBook Summit would likely be tabloid fodder, too. "[It] will be spun or twisted somehow against me, and maybe you yourself will be trolled relentlessly," Harry told Sorkin. "For that, I can only apologize, but you did invite me, so it's not my fault."
