Prince William Issues Statement on Harry's Romance

Prince William, member of one of the only families in the world where such a move might be necessary, has issued a statement supporting his brother's position on media coverage of his love life. The statement was released after rumors that William had disapproved of Prince Harry's statement earlier this month urging the press and others to stop harassing American girlfriend Meghan Markle, Vanity Fair reports. William, the Duke of Cambridge, "absolutely understands the situation concerning privacy and supports the need for Prince Harry to support those closest to him," the statement issued by Kensington Palace says.

According to the Telegraph's chief reporter on the royals, the brothers had a heart-to-heart talk about whether Harry should issue the statement calling for tabloid reporters and Internet trolls to leave Markle alone. "They don't issue statements like that without talking to each other, and they talked about the Meghan Markle statement extensively in advance of it being put out," a royal source tells the paper. "No one wanted to have to put that statement out, including Prince Harry, and there was concern about confirming the relationship," the source says. "But over the course of one weekend things escalated to the extent that Prince Harry felt he had to act.” (More Prince William stories.)