Prince Harry is attributing the deterioration of his relationship with the royal family to his legal disputes with British tabloids.
In an interview for ITV’s documentary “Tabloids on Trial,” the Duke of Sussex, 39, expressed that these legal battles have significantly strained his ties with the Firm. Harry highlighted his family’s lack of support in fighting against the media as a contributing factor to the ongoing tensions.
“I think that’s certainly a central piece to it,” Harry stated during the interview with Rebecca Barry. He elaborated that discussing his family in the context of these issues often results in intense media backlash. The documentary delves into the 2011 phone-hacking scandal and Harry’s recent lawsuits against media publishers.
Harry expressed frustration over his family’s reluctance to join him in challenging the tabloids. “I’ve made it very clear that this needs to be done. It would be nice if we did it as a family,” he said. He emphasized his belief in addressing these issues for the greater good, though he acknowledged that his efforts have contributed to a rift with his family.
The prince, who stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to the U.S. with his wife, Meghan Markle, was awarded $180,700 in December 2023 after London’s High Court found that he had been subjected to “modest” phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering by journalists.
Harry, who testified as a critical witness in the trial against Mirror Group Newspapers in June 2023, claimed that the publisher had unlawfully gathered information for over 140 stories over 15 years. However, the trial focused on 33 of these.
Recently, Harry faced allegations of “deliberately destroying” evidence related to his phone-hacking claim against the Sun publisher. The publisher’s attorney, Anthony Hudson, accused Harry of “shocking” and “extraordinary” obstruction by allegedly destroying text messages with the ghostwriter of his memoir, “Spare,” released in January 2023. Harry’s legal team has denied these claims, accusing News Group Newspapers of engaging in a “classic fishing expedition” by requesting documents so late in the case.
Harry is now required to explain how drafts of his book and communications with his ghostwriter were destroyed after the lawsuit was initiated five years ago.
