The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge got married in 2011 at a ceremony in Westminster Abbey. Prince Harry was in attendance, along with his reportedly on-off girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
According to royal author Robert Lacey, the ceremony led to Ms Davy stepping back from her relationship with Harry due to the extensive media attention involved.
Mr Lacey details the claim in his book Battle of Brothers, which explores the relationship between Prince Harry and Prince William.
He claims Ms Davy “finally decided to go” after watching William and Kate get married in the spring of 2011.
The author adds: “According to a friend, she told Harry that she could never make the sacrifices she had witnessed Kate making, particularly when it came to moulding her life around the unremitting attention of the press,” The Mirror reports.
Ms Davy herself later related her experience in an interview with The Times.
Speaking to the paper, she described the royal attention as “full-on – crazy and scary and uncomfortable”.
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Prince Harry later met current wife Meghan Markle, and the two were themselves married in a ceremony in 2018.
Their wedding took place at Windsor Castle with hundreds of guests in attendance – plus thousands of members of the public who gathered in the town.
However, extensive press attention has continued to be an issue, with the couple citing it as one reason why they decided to step down as senior royals.
In their Spring 2020 Transition statement, the Sussexes said: “The Royal Family respect and understand the wish of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex to live a more independent life as a family, by removing the supposed ‘public interest’ justification for media intrusion into their lives.”
The couple now live in the US where they are in the process of setting up various projects to be self-sustaining.
Meghan Markle spoke out about the issues of living in the royal spotlight earlier this year.
Speaking on the Teenager Therapy podcast to mark World Mental Health Day in October, the Duchess spoke out on the harassment she was subject to.
She called the abuse “almost unsurvivable”, adding: “I don’t care if you’re 15 or 25, if people are saying things about you that aren’t true, what that does to your mental and emotional health is so damaging.”
She also said such attention “universal” regardless of whether they are famous.
