prince harry carribean
Prince Harry attends a Garden Party for Barbados' orphaned and vulnerable children at the Garrison Museum with Prince Seeiso of Lesotho (not pictured) in Bridgetown, Jan. 30, 2010. Getty Images/Gareth Cattermole

The Kensington Palace issued a statement Tuesday accusing the media of harassing Prince Harry and Meghan Markle with coverage of their relationship. The palace confirmed the British prince is concerned about the American actress' safety.

"Prince Harry is worried about Ms. Markle's safety and is deeply disappointed that he has not been able to protect her," the statement from Kensington Palace read "It is not right that a few months into a relationship with him that Ms. Markle should be subjected to such a storm."

The statement said the 32-year-old prince was aware the media coverage was based on significant curiosity about his private life, but it crossed the line in terms of intrusion. Harry said the statement was issued in hopes the media would "pause" this sort of behavior.

The palace said the harassment has "been very public — 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."

Prince Harry said commentators would say this was "the price she has to pay" and that "this is all part of the game" but the palace said he "strongly disagrees."

"This is not a game — it is her life and his," the statement said.

Rumors about Prince Harry and Markle's relationship surfaced after the two were spotted together on several occasions.