Meghan Markle complains about press intrusion into private life in letter to media complaints regulator

Representatives of the actress and girlfriend of Prince Harry say Markle has been subject to harassment from journalists abroad

The statement says the Prince rarely undertakes formal action over 'fictional stories' but the past week had seen 'a line crossed' (Getty Images)

Meghan Markle has complained about press intrusion into her private life in a letter addressed to a British media regulator.

Representatives of the 35-year-old actress, who is the girlfriend of Prince Harry, said Markle has been subject to harassment from journalists abroad and is worried about articles being published about her in the UK media.

It comes after Prince Harry condemned the paparazzi for subjecting Markle to a “wave of abuse and harassment” via an extraordinary statement released by Kensington Palace.

The Palace attacked the “racial undertones” of media coverage of Markle, best known for her role in Suits, and said the 32-year-old Prince feared for her safety. The actress, whose father is white and mother is African American, has described herself as biracial and “half black and half white” on her website.

The statement said the Prince rarely undertook formal action over “fictional stories” but the past week had seen “a line crossed”.

“Some of this has been very public,” the statement said. “The smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments.”

“Some of it has been hidden from the public - the nightly legal battles to keep defamatory stories out of papers; her mother having to struggle past photographers in order to get to her front door; the attempts of reporters and photographers to gain illegal entry to her home and the calls to police that followed; the substantial bribes offered by papers to her ex-boyfriend; the bombardment of nearly every friend, co-worker, and loved one in her life.”

The statement confirmed for the first time that Markle, who lives in Toronto, and Prince Harry are in a relationship. The Palace also said Prince Harry was profoundly "disappointed" he had not been able to protect her from press intrusion.

“It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms Markle should be subjected to such a storm,” it said.