Prince Harry Reveals “Central Piece” of Rift With Royal Family
Prince Harry Says Tabloid Lawsuits Contributed to Rift With the Royal Family
Prince Harry says the British tabloids are more than a royal pain.
In fact, the Duke of Sussex blames the tabloids and his familyâs unwillingness to fight against them as a major reason for the rift between himself and the royal family like dad King Charles III and brother Prince William.
âI think thatâs certainly a central piece to it,â the dad of Archie Harrison and Lilibet Diana (with wife Meghan Markle) told ITVâs Rebecca Barry as part of the networkâs new documentary Tabloids on Trial. âBut thatâs a hard question to answer, because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.â
The new series focuses on the 2011 phone hacking scandal, of which Harry was found to be a victim of hacking and other illegal snooping in the 1990s and 2000s by at least one major U.K. tabloid. Since then, the 39-year-old has brought lawsuits against multiple British publishing companies, including News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers for invasion of privacy.Â
âIâve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done, it would be nice if we did it as a family,â Harry told ITV. âI believe that from a service standpoint and when youâre in a public role, these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good. Iâm doing this for my reasons.â
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âI think everything thatâs played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is,â he added of his familyâs choice not to join him in the cause. âFor me, the mission continues, but yes, itâs caused part of a rift.â
In April 2023, during litigation against News Group Newspapers, Harryâs legal team alleged in court that Prince William privately settled with the Rupert Murdoch-owned company over a claim of phoine hacking, per court documents obtained by Reuters at the time.
Though the documents alleged the dad of threeâwed to Kate Middletonâsettled in order to “avoid the situation where a member of the royal family would have to sit in the witness box and recount the specific details of the private and highly sensitive voicemails that had been interceptedâ Harryâs legal team claimed, in documents obtained by NBC News, Harry was unable to bring his case to court originally due to his brotherâs secret agreement.
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According to the outlet, Harry claimed the deal was authorized by their grandmother Queen Elizabeth II and, while still ongoing, will prevent future litigation from the royals. The settlement was brought to light in the court because News Group Newspapers was arguing Harryâs suit was brought too late, but Harry cited his brotherâs agreement with the outlet for the timing of his own lawsuit. Ultimately, a judge ruled in Harryâs favor and the lawsuitâs litigation remains ongoing.
A separate lawsuit from Harry against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), however, has resulted in two victories for him.
Harry’s attorney David Sherborne announced during a Feb. 9 hearing that MGN and Harry had reached a settlement that would see the publisher covering his legal costs and damages as well as an interim payment of 400,000 pounds ($505,000) for invading his privacy with phone hacking and other illegal snooping, per NBC News.
In regards to the settlement, MGNâwhich publishes tabloids such as The Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirrorâsaid in a statement obtained by NBC News that it was “pleased to have reached this agreement, which gives our business further clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago and for which we have apologized.â
The news came two months after Harry was awarded $177,000 in damages after a judge found that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at MGN throughout the â90s and â00s and was covered up company executives.
“As the judge has said this morning,â Harry shared at the time, âwe have uncovered and proved the shockingly dishonest way the Mirror Group acted for many years and then sought to conceal the truth.”
(E! News and NBC News are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
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