Prince Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have called an apology by The Sun newspaper over its columnist Jeremy Clarkson’s comment article “nothing more than a PR stunt” because the newspaper did not contact Markle to apologize, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said on Saturday.
On Friday, the newspaper published the apology to Markle on its website over Clarkson’s article, saying that the staff regretted the publication of this comment and was “sincerely sorry” after it provoked a large number of complaints to UK newspaper and magazine industry regulator Independent Press Standards Organization.
“The fact that the Sun has not contacted The Duchess of Sussex to apologize shows their intent. This is nothing more than a PR stunt,” the spokesperson was quoted as saying by The Independent newspaper.
The spokesperson also said that “the public absolutely deserves the publication’s regrets for their dangerous comments” and that Markle “wouldn’t be in this situation if The Sun did not continue to profit off of and exploit hate, violence and misogyny,” as quoted in the report.
The column written by Clarkson said that he had dreamed of Markle “being paraded through British towns” and “publicly shamed,” adding that “everyone who’s my age thinks the same way,” according to the report.
“At night, I’m unable to sleep as I lie there, grinding my teeth and dreaming of the day when she is made to parade naked through the streets of every town in Britain while the crowds chant, ‘Shame!’ and throw lumps of excrement at her,” Clarkson had written.
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle left the UK after a conflict with the royal family two years ago. In March 2021, the couple gave a scandalous interview to Oprah Winfrey, in which they accused their royal relatives of indifference, constant pressure and even racism. Since then, the couple’s relationship with the royal court has remained strained, with tensions expected to rise after a new Netflix docuseries release.
