Harry and Meghan news – live: Duke and Duchess respond to Jeremy Clarkson apology over Sun article

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have responded to Jeremy Clarkson’s apology for his “disgraceful” column in The Sun, claiming he was left feeling “sick” after the backlash.

Claiming to have emailed the couple to apologise on Christmas Day, the ex-Top Gear host claimed he was “profoundly sorry” for the language in his column, adding: “I really am sorry. All the way from the balls of my feet to the follicles on my head. This is me putting my hands up. It’s a mea culpa with bells on.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex, however, insisted that Clarkson had written “solely to Prince Harry” and rejected the presenter’s claims to have written the column “in a hurry”, accusing him of a “longstanding pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny”.

In the article, the former Top Gear host said he despised the duchess on a “cellular level”, adding that he dreamt of the day she would be made to parade naked through Britain while a crowd chanted “shame” and threw “excrement” at her.

Key points

• Prince Harry and Meghan Markle respond to Jeremy Clarkson apology

• Ex-Top Gear host says he ‘felt sick’ over his column, in ‘mea culpa with bells on’

• Kate Middleton claims that ‘talking therapy’ doesn’t work for everyone

• King Charles III all smiles on first royal engagement since release of Spare

• Monarch ‘must be furious’ over son’s nicknames for royal aides

• Prince Harry denies boasting about Taliban kills, describing the spin as a ‘dangerous lie’

Clarkson ‘being dropped' by Amazon Prime

08:09 , Matt Mathers

Jeremy Clarkson will be dropped by Amazon Prime once the final episode of ‘Clarkson’s Farm’ ends, it has been reported.

A press conference for the series was due to take place today but was cancelled at 6pm last night after the presenter issued his apology to Prince Harry.

Variety Australia, citing anonymous sources, said the presenter will no longer work with the streaming giant once ‘The Grand Tour - another series featuring Mr Clarkson - and the farm show have ended.

Clarkson Twitter remains silent

07:39 , Matt Mathers

Jeremy Clarkson has apologised to the Sussexes for the “digraceful” column he wrote about Meghan.

Following the backlash against the piece, Mr Clarkson tweeted that he’d put his “foot in it” but stopped short of saying sorry.

That remains that last tweet on his Twitter account, posted on 19 December.

Princes Harry and William invited to reunite at relaunch of nightclub

06:59 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has been invited to reunite with his brother Prince William at the relaunch of London’s Bouji nightclub, where the brothers once partied.

After closing its doors in 2014, the Sunday Times reported that it was planning to reopen, with co-owner Carlos Carello reported as saying: “Harry will be able to join us for the opening via the metaverse from LA, and he and William would be welcome to come and share the table together like the old days.

“I’m an optimist – I think those two will have a happy ending.”

Chelsea Handler pokes fun at Prince Harry’s frostbite recollections

05:59 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry found himself at the sharp end of comedian Chelsea Handler’s Critics Choice Award speech last night over certain revelations in his new memoir.

Handler quipped: “Niecy Nash-Betts is nominated for Dahmer. Dahmer became the third highest viewed show on Netflix, which a combined watch time of 1 billion hours, which, apparently, is the same amount of time we’re going to have to listen to Prince Harry talk about his frostbitten penis.”

Following laughs from the crowd, she said of Harry’s claims: “It’s enough already.”

Chelsea Handler mocks Corden and DeGeneres in brutal Critics Choice monologue

Voices | The most damning detail in Prince Harry’s book - TJ Maxx

04:55 , Andy Gregory

In this opinion column, Holly Baxter takes aim at perhaps the most damning revelation of them all to emerge from Spare writing: “There it was! The smoking gun! Surely the proof that he could be trusted for nothing! Because if a man lies about a TJ Maxx sale, what else is he capable of?”

Read the piece in full here:

The most damning detail in Prince Harry’s book - TJ Maxx

Video report: Amazon to ‘cut ties’ with Clarkson, sources claim

03:50 , Andy Gregory

What was Sussexes' and Clarkson’s initial reaction to Sun column?

02:41 , Andy Gregory

Prior to the joint statement from the Sussexes and Jeremy Clarkson’s statements on Monday about his much-maligned column in The Sun, both he and Prince Harry had previously spoken out on the subject. Here is what they said:

For their part, the couple issued a statement calling the paper’s “sincere” apology “nothing more than a PR stunt” and accusing it of profiting off and exploiting “hate, violence and misogyny”.

Prince Harry later told ITV’s Tom Bradby: “What [Clarkson] said was horrific, and is hurtful and cruel towards my wife. But it also encourages other people around the UK and around the world, men particularly, to go and think that it’s acceptable to treat women that way.”

Queen Elizabeth pressed Meghan Markle for opinion on Trump in 2016, book claims

01:36 , Andy Gregory

Among the lesser-covered revelations in Prince Harry’s book was the claim that Queen Elizabeth II put the future Duchess of Sussex on the spot at their first meeting by asking her opinion of Donald Trump when the latter was a US presidential candidate.

He described the first encounter between the late Queen and the future Duchess as “all very pleasant,” and noted that the meeting took place in late 2016, just before Mr Trump’s victory.

“Granny even asked Meg what she thought of Donald Trump,” he wrote, adding that Meghan “thought politics a no-win game” and described how she deftly changed the subject to Canada, where she’d been living while filming Suits.

In response, he said the late Queen “squinted” and replied to Meghan: “I thought you were American”, to which she replied: “I am, but I’ve been living in Canada for seven years for work”. He writes: “Granny looked pleased. Commonwealth. Good, fine.”

Queen Elizabeth pressed Meghan Markle for opinion on Trump in 2016, book claims

Americans welcomed Prince Harry with open arms. Will ‘Spare’ spoil the love story?

00:29 , Andy Gregory

At the Nineties height of the US teen magazine – incidentally, when Meghan Markle was a California schoolgirl – it was not uncommon to see the brooding face of Prince William staring out from glossy covers alongside Hollywood heartthrob glamour shots, writes Sheila Flynn.

Girls from coast to coast debated the merits of marrying either William or Prince Harry, dreaming of the royal weddings they’d someday have when one of the princes inevitably plucked them from obscurity.

When Harry decamped to the US with his American bride, the narrative bore the same hallmarks as America’s very foundation: Rebellion. Self-reliance. Reinvention. Romance.

They’d seen the very fairytale they’d wished for come true before their eyes, and the teen mag generation – along with much of the rest of America – welcomed Harry and Meghan with open arms.

But two days after the release of Harry’s memoir Spare, a text to a group of 40-year-old high school friends – women now living across the country with different politics and careers – prompted a fast and furious barrage of responses.

Americans welcomed Prince Harry with open arms. Will ‘Spare’ spoil the love story?

Prince Harry suggests royal family may thank him ‘in five or 10 years’

Monday 16 January 2023 23:17 , Andy Gregory

In case you missed it last week, Prince Harry has suggested that the royal family may thank him for his memoir “in five or 10 years time”.

In an interview with The Telegraph published on 13 January, journalist Bryony Gordon writes that Harry “accepts that any chance of reconciliation” with his family “is unlikely at the moment.”

He said: “What I’ve realised is that you don’t make any friends, especially within your family, because everyone has learned to accept that trauma [as] part of life. How dare you, as an individual, talk about it, because that makes us all feel really uncomfortable? So right, you may not like me in the moment, but maybe you’ll thank me in five or 10 years time.”

Prince Harry says royal family may thank him ‘in five or 10 years’ after memoir

Lady Gabriella Windsor stands in for Prince William at funeral

Monday 16 January 2023 22:44 , Emily Atkinson

Lady Gabriella Windsor has taken her first strides into public life as the stand-in for her cousin Prince William at funeral of the former King of Greece, Constantine.

King Charles recently extended his list of counsellors of state, those who can deputise for the monarch if he is overseas on an official trip or ill.

Lady Gabriella married financier Thomas Kingston in 2019. The intimate ceremony in St. George’s Chapel at Windsor Castle was attended by several senior members of the royal family, including Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Harry.

Her godfather Constantine II, second cousin to King Charles III, died aged 82 at a private hospital in Athens on 10 January.

Harry and Meghan commended for calling out hidden misogyny in Jeremy Clarkson’s apology

Monday 16 January 2023 22:02 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have been commended for calling out the hidden misogyny in Jeremy Clarkson’s apology, after the Duke and Duchess of Sussex claimed the presenter wrote “solely” to Harry to apologise.

Our US lifestyle editor Chelsea Ritschel reports:

Harry and Meghan commended for calling out misogyny in Jeremy Clarkson’s apology

Amazon to ‘cut ties’ with Jeremy Clarkson after existing commitments, sources claim

Monday 16 January 2023 21:07 , Andy Gregory

Variety has cited sources as claiming that Amazon Prime Video will not be working with Jeremy Clarkson beyond seasons of The Grand Tour and Clarkson's Farm they have previously commissioned.

Mr Clarkson’s representatives have been contacted for a response. Amazon said: “We won’t be commenting on this and have nothing further to add.”

You can read more in our report:

Amazon ‘cuts ties’ with Jeremy Clarkson after Meghan Markle column row

ITV to go ahead with filming Who Wants To Be A Millionaire, report suggests

Monday 16 January 2023 20:35 , Andy Gregory

ITV will go ahead with filming a new series of Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?, which is hosted by Jeremy Clarkson, but has no further commissioning commitments beyond that, the Press Association news agency reports.

Speaking at a Broadcasting Press Guild event in December, managing director of ITV Studios Kevin Lygo said Clarkson’s comments about the Duchess of Sussex were “awful” but added the broadcaster plans to keep him as the host of the gameshow “at the moment”.

Sussexes respond to Jeremy Clarkson apology over Sun column

Monday 16 January 2023 19:20 , Andy Gregory

The Sussexes have issued a response to Jeremy Clarkson’s statement of apology for his column in The Sun about Meghan Markle.

Appearing to contest a number of the former Top Gear host’s claims, the statement – reported by Omid Scobie of Yahoo – states: “On December 25, 2022, Mr Clarkson wrote solely to Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex. The contents of his correspondence were marked Private and Confidential.

“While a new public apology has been issued today by Mr Clarkson, what remains to be addressed is his longstanding pattern of writing articles that spread hate rhetoric, dangerous conspiracy theories and misogyny.

“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.”

Royals ‘got to get a move on’ to reconcile with Harry and Meghan before coronation

Monday 16 January 2023 18:54 , Andy Gregory

Buckingham Palace insiders have warned that the royal family has “got to get a move on” to reconcile with Prince Harry and Meghan Markle before King Charles’s coronation, my colleague Joe Middleton reports.

A royal source close to King Charles told The Times they believed a meeting between the warring royals could happen in the next few months, saying: “It’s going to take flexibility on all sides, but it can be done, it’s fixable.

“It needs Harry over here, in the room with the King and prince of Wales, a couple of other family members, some of ‘his people’ he trusts who always had his back, so he doesn’t think he’s being ambushed.

“Someone like Elf [Ed Lane Fox, Harry’s former private secretary] and Christopher [Lord Geidt, the late Queen’s former private secretary who advised the Sussexes]. Both sides need to hold their hands up and admit we didn’t get everything right, and we got a lot wrong, and we have to say to him ‘we understand the pain you’ve been through’. The King can do it.”

Royals ‘got to get a move on’ to reconcile with Harry and Meghan

Jeremy Clarkson references Harry Kane penalty in statement about Meghan Markle

Monday 16 January 2023 18:19 , Andy Gregory

Jeremy Clarkson has referenced England football captain Harry Kane’s World Cup penalty miss in his statement about his Sun column, in which he claimed to hate the Duchess of Sussex “on a cellular level”.

His statement concluded: “Over the last 30 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.”

New royal on the block as Gabrielle Windsor stands in for Prince William at King Constantine’s funeral

Monday 16 January 2023 17:50 , Andy Gregory

Lady Gabriella Windsor has taken her first strides into public life in the shoes of her cousin Prince William as his stand for the funeral of the former King of Greece, my colleague Emily Atkinson reports.

Accompanied by the Princess Royal, Lady Gabriella, 41, daughter of Prince Michael of Kent, was asked to represent the future king at the Metropolitan Cathedral in Athens.

It comes after King Charles hinted that both Prince Andrew, recently embroiled in a legal battle, and Harry would be sidelined indefinitely as working royals.

New royal on the block as Gabrielle Windsor stands in for Prince William at funeral

Watch: Caroline Flack's mother condemns Jeremy Clarkson's column against Meghan Markle

Monday 16 January 2023 16:35 , Emily Atkinson

Recap: What did Jeremy Clarkson say about Meghan Markle?

Monday 16 January 2023 16:25 , Emily Atkinson

Jeremy Clarkson has come under fire for his most recent comments about Meghan Markle, with a plethora of fellow celebrities criticising his “hateful” rant.

Over the past two years, Mr Clarkson has continued to give Markle the attention he has claimed she “craves so desperately” through a stream of online criticism and newspaper columns.

Ella Kipling takes a look back at Mr Clarkson’s most controversial comments about Markle, whichcover everything from climate change and polar bears to calling Markle a “silly little cable TV actress”:

7 of Jeremy Clarkson’s most controversial comments about Meghan Markle

ITV and Amazon were ‘incandescent’ over Meghan column, says Clarkson

Monday 16 January 2023 16:15 , Emily Atkinson

Jeremy Clarkson‘s statement also mentioned that ITV and Amazon, which air Who Wants to be a Millionaire and The Grand Tour respectively, were “incandescent” over his column.

He said: “The Sun quickly apologised and I tried to explain myself. But still, there were calls for me to be sacked and charged with a hate crime.

“More than 60 MPs demanded action to be taken. ITV, who make Who Wants to be a Millionaire, and Amazon, who make the Farm Show and the Grand Tour, were incandescent.

“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’d used in my column was disgraceful and that I was profoundly sorry.”

How did Harry and Meghan receive The Sun’s apology over Jeremy Clarkson column?

Monday 16 January 2023 16:05 , Emily Atkinson

In continuation of our last post, how was the Sun’s apology received by the Sussexes?

In short, the pair attacked its statement as “nothing more than a PR stunt”.

Roisin O’Connor has more detail on the royal couple’s response:

Duke and Duchess of Sussex break silence over Jeremy Clarkson column

Recap: The Sun’s apology over Jeremy Clarkson column

Monday 16 January 2023 15:54 , Emily Atkinson

The Sun has previously apologised for Jeremy Clarkson’s derisive column, admitting it regretted its publication.

In a statement, issued on 22 December, the newspaper said: “In last Saturday’s Sun, Jeremy Clarkson wrote a comment article about the Duchess of Sussex. It provoked a strong response and led to a large number of complaints to Ipso, the independent press regulator.

“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.

“Columnists’ opinions are their own, but as a publisher we realise that with free expression comes responsibility. We at The Sun regret the publication of this article and we are sincerely sorry.”

The newspaper added that the article had also been removed from their archives as well as their website.

Duke warned Jeremy Clarkson’s ‘horrific’ article about Meghan incites violence

Monday 16 January 2023 15:46 , Emily Atkinson

Prince Harry has previously said that Jeremy Clarkson’s “cruel” article in The Sun newspaper about his wife Meghan encouraged people around the world to believe it is an acceptable way to treat women.

During an interview with ITV’s Tom Bradby ahead of the publication of his autobiography Spare, the Duke of Sussex spoke at length about the accountability of the UK media.

“When we’re talking about accountability… the Jeremy Clarkson article… what he said was horrific and is hurtful and cruel towards my wife, but it also encourages other people around the UK and around the world, men particularly, to go and think that it’s acceptable to treat women that way,” he said.

Clarkson unsure if he can ‘move on’ from Meghan column

Monday 16 January 2023 15:41 , Emily Atkinson

Jeremy Clarkson has said he is unsure if he can “move on” from the controversy sparked by his comments against Meghan Markle.

Looking to the future, he suggested in his apology to the Duchess of Sussex that his columns hereafter might focus instead on his becoming a grandfather,

He wrote: “Over the last 30 years, I have written very nearly 5,000 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.

“So can I move on now? Not sure. It’s hard to be interesting and vigilant at the same time. You never hear peals 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.”

Clarkson bemoans failure to mention Game of Thrones reference

Monday 16 January 2023 15:35 , Emily Atkinson

Jermey Clarkson said he had been picturing a scene from Game of Thrones when writing the disparaging column – but his failure to mention this had made it appear as if he were “calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan’s head.”

In the column, Mr Clarkson wrote that he lay in bed “dreaming of the day when she [Meghan] 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”.

Taking to Instagram today, he explained: “I knew what had happened straight away. I’d been thinking of a scene in Games Of Thrones, but I’d forgotten to mention this. So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan’s head. I was very angry with myself because in all those controversial days on Top Gear, when I was accused of all sorts of things, it was very rarely sexism.

“We never did ‘women can’t park’ gags for instance. Or suggested that powerful cars were only for men. And I was thrilled when Jodie Kidd and Ellen MacArthur set fastest-ever laps in our reasonably-priced car. I’m just not sexist and I abhor violence against women. And yet I seemed to be advocating just that.”

Clarkson blames ‘horrible’ column on being home alone when filing

Monday 16 January 2023 15:30 , Emily Atkinson

Jeremy Clarkson alleges he had been alone and unable to run his controversial column by anybody before filing.

The former Top Gear presenter describe his column, full of disparaging and sexist remarks about the Duchess of Sussex, as “horrible”, asking: “Had I really said that?”

As part of a lengthy apology shared on his Instagram, Mr Clarkson said: “Usually, I read what I’ve written to someone else before filing, but I was home alone on that fateful day, 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.

“It was a slow rumble to start with and I ignored it. But then the rumble got louder. So I picked up a copy of The Sun to see what all the fuss was about.

“We’ve all been there, I guess. In that precise moment when we suddenly realise we’ve completely messed up. You are sweaty and cold at the same time. And your head pounds. And you feel sick. I couldn’t believe what I was reading. Had I really said that? It was horrible.”

‘Had I really said that? It was horrible’: Jeremy Clarkson’s apology to the Duchess of Sussex in full

Monday 16 January 2023 15:25 , Emily Atkinson

Jeremy Clarkson has said he is “profoundly sorry” for a column he wrote for The Sun, in which he made a number of disparaging remarks about Meghan Markle.

Posting to Instagram on Monday 16 January, the TV presenter said he had written to the Duchess of Sussex to apologise, and shared a lengthy statement with his followers.

Click the link below to read his statement in full:

‘Had I really said that?’: Jeremy Clarkson’s apology to the Duchess of Sussex in full

Clarkson says own daughter denounced him over comments

Monday 16 January 2023 15:20 , Katy Clifton

Clarkson insisted he is not sexist in his apology and said close friends were furious with his over the column.

He added his own daughter “took to Instagram to denounce me”, after she wrote last month: “I want to make it very clear that I stand against everything that my dad wrote about Meghan Markle.”

Clarkson wrote: “I knew what had happened straight away. I’d been thinking of a scene in Games Of Thrones, but I’d forgotten to mention this. So it looked like I was actually calling for revolting violence to rain down on Meghan’s head. I was very angry with myself because in all those controversial days on Top Gear, when I was accused of all sorts of things, it was very rarely sexism.

“We never did ‘women can’t park’ gags for instance. Or suggested that powerful cars were only for men. And I was thrilled when Jodie Kidd and Ellen MacArthur set fastest-ever laps in our reasonably-priced car. I’m just not sexist and I abhor violence against women. And yet I seemed to be advocating just that.

“I was mortified and so was everyone else. My phone went mad. Very close friends were furious. Even my own daughter took to Instagram to denounce me.”

Jeremy Clarkson apologises to Meghan Markle

Monday 16 January 2023 15:13 , Katy Clifton

Jeremy Clarkson has claimed that he’s emailed Meghan Markle and Prince Harry to apologise over his controversial column in The Sun about the Duchess of Sussex.

In the column, published on 16 December following the release of the second part of the royal couple’s Netflix documentary, Clarkson shared his thoughts on Meghan.

The former Top Gear host wrote that he despised her on “a cellular level” and dreamt of the day that the duchess would be made to parade naked through Britain while a crowd chanted “shame” and threw “excrement” at her.

‘A mea culpa with bells on’: Jeremy Clarkson shares apology letter to Meghan

Saturday 14 January 2023 20:07 , Natalie Crockett

We’re pausing our live coverage for the evening. We’ll bring you the latest updates on this story at independent.co.uk

Prince Harry says that taking hallucinogenic drugs helped him accept Princess Diana’s death

Saturday 14 January 2023 19:00 , Furvah Shah

Prince Harry has spoken out about taking ayahuasca and how it helped him cope with the death of his mother, Princess Diana.

The Duke of Sussex addressed how he once took the psychedelic drug with a professional during a recent interview with The Telegraph, which was published days after he released his new memoir, Spare.

Ayahuasca is “a plant-based psychedelic,” which “can alter a person’s thinking, sense of time and emotions,” according to the Alcohol and Drug Foundation.

During his conversation with journalist Bryony Gordon, the Duke said that the drug helped him come to terms with his mother’s death and “be happy” with his life like Diana wanted him to do.

Amber Raiken has the full story:

Prince Harry says that doing ayahuasca helped him accept Diana’s death

Spare’s first draft was twice as long, Prince Harry reveals

Saturday 14 January 2023 18:30 , Furvah Shah

The first draft of Prince Harry’s tell-all memoir, Spare, was twice as long.

The Duke of Sussex has said he had enough material for two books, but he held back because he does not think his father and brother would “ever forgive” him.

In an interview with The Telegraph, he said: “It could have been two books, put it that way.”

The journalist wrote that Harry told her the first draft was 800 pages, double the final manuscript which comes in at just over 400 pages.

He also revealed that there were things he revealed to ghostwriter JR Moehringer “for context”, but there was “absolutely no way” they would be included in the book.