What did Jeremy Clarkson say about Meghan Markle? As Prince Harry responds to 'apology'

Royal fans are wondering what Jeremy Clarkson said about Meghan Markle after Prince Harry criticised the Royal Family's 'deafening silence' on the article in question.

Prince Harry has criticised the Royal Family's 'deafening silence' on an article written by Jeremy Clarkson on his wife, Meghan Markle. 

The Duke of Sussex has spoken out about his new book Spare (opens in new tab), in which he addresses various stories that have been about himself and wife Meghan Markle and he also talks of his 'strained' relationship with brother Prince William.

And during an interview to promote the new memoir, Prince Harry spoke of his family's 'deafening silence' in the wake of the article written by former Top Gear presenter Jeremy Clarkson which 'attacked' his wife Meghan.

And as Clarkson re-issues a lengthy apology on his Instagram, fans are wondering what was said...

What did Jeremy Clarkson say about Meghan Markle?

Jeremy Clarkson wrote a newspaper column for The Sun in which he told readers that he 'hated' the Duchess of Sussex. He wrote, "I hate her. Not like I hate Nicola Sturgeon or Rose West. I hate her on a cellular level."

He added, "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."

In response to backlash over his comments, Jeremy claimed that "everyone" his age "thinks the same way". He added that what makes him "despair is that younger people, especially girls, think she's pretty cool".

The article, written by the Former Top Gear presenter, made history as the Independent Press Standards Organisation’s most complained about story ever and The Sun has since said that it is "sincerely sorry" for the publication. 

A statement from the newspaper read, "In light of Jeremy Clarkson's tweet he has asked us to take last week's column down. In a tweet earlier this week, Jeremy said he had made a ‘clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones’, which had ‘gone down badly with a great many people’ and he was ‘horrified to have caused so much hurt’. He also said he will be more careful in future."

Jeremy addressed his article comments on his own Twitter, it reads, "Oh dear. I’ve rather put my foot in it. In a column I wrote about Meghan, I made a clumsy reference to a scene in Game of Thrones and this has gone down badly with a great many people. I’m horrified to have caused so much hurt and I shall be more careful in future."

But his comments have come under from fire - from even his own daughter Emily who spoke out condemning her dad's comments. In an Instagram story, she said, "My views are and have always been clear when it comes to misogyny, bullying and the treatment of women by the media.

"I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything that my dad wrote about Meghan Markle and I remain in support of those that are targeted with online hatred."

Carol Vorderman also hit back at Jeremy's words. She tweeted, ""NO, Jeremy Clarkson. Not on any level, in any circumstance, is it OK to write this stuff about any woman and absolutely NO to 'everyone who's my age thinks the same'."

Jeremy Clarkson, who filmed TV show Clarkson's Farm, and remained host of ITV's Who Wants to be a Millionaire following his article.

At the time, Kevin Lygo, the managing director of ITV Studios, told members of the Broadcasting Press Guild, “We have no control over what he says. We hire him as a consummate broadcaster of the most famous quiz on television, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?

“So it’s not quite in our wheelhouse but I don’t know what he was thinking when he wrote that. It was awful.”

Asked if ITV would keep Clarkson as host of the quiz show, Mr Lygo said, “Yes, at the moment we are. What he says in the papers we have no control of.”

Asked whether Clarkson represented ITV’s values, Mr Lygo replied, “No, of course he doesn’t in that instance.”

Variety (opens in new tab) has since reported that Amazon is 'likely to be parting ways" with the presenter after 2024 when his shows are due to end.

Jeremy Clarkson's 'apology' to Prince Harry and Meghan

Jeremy Clarkson issued a length statement on Monday 16th January in which he claims he emailed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle on Christmas Day to say his language had been 'disgraceful' and he was 'profoundly sorry'. 

He explained how he usually reads what he's written before filing his copy but was home alone and in a hurry. "So when I'd finished, I just pressed send. And then, when the column appeared the next day, the land mine exploded."

When he picked up a copy of The Sun he realised he'd "completely messed up" and spoke of how he had been thinking of a scene in Game of Thrones when he wrote about imagining the duchess being abused in the street, but had forgotten to mention it.

"So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan's head."

Part of his statement explained, "I therefore wrote to everyone who works with me saying how sorry I was and then on Christmas morning, I e-mailed Harry and Meghan in California to apologise to them too. I said I was baffled by what they had been saying on TV but that the language I used in my column was disgraceful and that I was profoundly sorry.

It continued, "Over the last thirty years, I have written very nearly five thousand newspaper and magazine columns, so it was inevitable that one day, I'd do a Harry Kane and sky one of the damn things. Which is what happened with the piece about Meghan."

Before concluding, "So can I move on now? Not sure. It's hard to be interesting and vigilant at the same time. You never hear of pearls of laughter coming from a health and safety seminar. But I promise you this, I will try.

"Who knows? Very soon now I shall be a grandfather so in future, maybe I'll just write about that."

What did Prince Harry say about Jeremy Clarkson's article?

Prince Harry said the royal family's "silence is deafening" following the "horrific" Sun article last month in which the Duke described as "horrific and hurtful and cruel towards my wife".

"The world is asking for some form of comment from the monarchy. But the silence is deafening. To put it mildly," he said.

"Everything to do with my wife, after six years, they haven't said a single thing."

And Prince Harry referenced the recent quick action taken by the place after a race row at a Buckingham Palace reception between Lady Susan Hussey and Ngozi Fulani, just three weeks earlier as contrast to his and his wife's treatment.

To give context to the incident he is referring to, while attending an event, Ms Fulani - a black British charity founder - was challenged repeatedly by Lady Hussey about where she was "really from".

Ms Fulani complained about how the exchange had offended her, prompting a rapid apology from the Palace.

In a statement, the Palace described the remarks as "unacceptable and deeply regrettable". Lady Hussey ultimately resigned as a lady of the household.

In his ITV interview with Tom Bradby, Prince Harry defended Lady Hussey, saying "she had never meant any harm at all". But in doing so he pointed to the contrast between the treatment given to Ms Fulani and to his wife after the language used about her by Jeremy Clarkson.

Prince Harry also accused the Royal Family of "getting into bed with the devil" to improve its image - which he linked to relationships between "certain members of the family and the tabloid press".

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Prince Harry and Meghan said the article was not an isolated incident for Clarkson.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the Duke and Duchess of Sussex said Clarkson addressed his correspondence solely to Prince Harry.

"While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his long-standing pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny," the spokesperson said.

"Unless each of his other pieces were also written 'in a hurry', as he states, it is clear that this is not an isolated incident shared in haste, but rather a series of articles shared in hate," they added.

Related Spare memoir Features:

• Prince Harry's heartbreaking last words to the Queen (opens in new tab)
• Prince Harry says Prince William was ‘gone forever’ after his marriage to Kate Middleton in new memoir Spare (opens in new tab)
• Prince Harry says he was ‘naïve’ and ‘probably bigoted’ before he met Meghan Markle (opens in new tab)
• Prince Harry admits he searched out Meghan Markle’s raunchy scenes from Suits (opens in new tab)
• Prince Harry claims Prince William 'knocked' him to the ground in 'attack' (opens in new tab)

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