Princes Harry and William deny 'bullying' rumours

Royal brothers princes William and Harry have denied rumours circulated by UK Sunday papers that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were “bullied” out of the royal family.

According to UK's Sunday Times, a source close to the couple said Prince Harry and Meghan Markle cut ties with their royal duties because of a “bullying” attitude from his brother William, the Duke of Cambridge.

The publication reported that the “close source” said Prince William was barely welcoming to Markle when she first started dating Harry and this, allegedly, caused a wedge in the brothers' relationship.

However, in a joint statement shared by Harpers Bazaar, William and Harry said the “false story” and its language was “harmful” and undermined the work the brothers were doing to help mental health charities.

“Despite clear denials, a false story ran in a UK newspaper today speculating about the relationship between the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge.

“For brothers who care so deeply about the issues surrounding mental health, the use of inflammatory language in this way is offensive and potentially harmful.”

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex shook the world last week when they announced they were “stepping down” from their senior roles in the royal family.

They said they planned to work towards becoming “financially independent” and “have chosen to make a transition this year in starting to carve out a progressive new role within this institution”.

In less than a week on their “financially independent” journey, it was reported that Markle had signed a deal with Disney.

According to Vanity Fair, she would be providing voice-over work to an unspecified future Disney project, in exchange for a donation to the charity organisation Elephants Without Borders.