PRINCE Harry is appealing to the better judgement of newspaper editors and their readers – and we should take his request seriously.

The Prince has taken the extraordinary step of issuing a statement in which he both acknowledges actress Meghan Markle as his girlfriend for the first time, and makes clear his distress over the media’s treatment of her.

It was a sign of both his loyalty, anger and also of his desperation another partner could be scared off by intense press intrusion, that he has been moved to speak out.

He authorised the statement after an escalation in the media coverage last week, the racial undertones of the comments – Ms Markle’s mother is African American and her father is white – the harassment against his girlfriend’s family and what the palace describe as attempts to ruin her reputation.

Some may suggest that the son of Prince Charles and the late Princess of Wales should expect, and be used to this level of interest in his private life. For a man born into such a position of privilege to expect privacy is foolhardy, but we also agree with Harry that some of the recent coverage “crossed a line” of taste and decency. No one deserves to be the subject of racist, sexist or abusive behaviour.

Harry’s tactic of going public about the romance is, however, likely to backfire and ignite even more interest in his love life.

The statement is the latest skirmish between the royal family and the media and comes at a time when newspapers are facing renewed scrutiny over regulation.

We believe that a system of rigorous self regulation rather than state control is the best way to preserve a free and democratic press. But if we wish to preserve our independent status then newspapers have an obligation to report the news without reverting to sleazy comment and innuendo.