Prince Harry says tabloid lawsuits have been added to ‘Rift’ with royal family

Prince Harry has spoken publicly for the first time about one of his many legal battles against the tabloids. He said his experiences with the British press have led to “a lot of, I think, paranoia, fear, worry, anxiety and mistrust among the people around you. .”

In the upcoming documentary ‘Tabloids On Trial’, which airs in Britain on ITV (and streamer ITVX) on July 25, the British royal family speaks about his case to Mirror Group Newspapers. Last December, a judge ruled that ‘extensive’ phone hacking had taken place in relation to Harry and awarded him £140,600 ($180,000) to cover his ‘pain’.

In the documentary, Harry describes the judge’s ruling as a ‘monumental victory’. “To go in there and come out and have the judge rule in our favor was obviously huge,” he says. “But for him to go as far as he did with regard to, you know, this wasn’t just about the individual people. This went all the way to the top… these were lawyers, these were high-level executives. And to be able to achieve that during a trial is a monumental victory.”

Speaking about one of the headlines dissected during the trial, referring to the prince’s then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, Harry said: “‘Harry’s girl is going to dump him’ – it seems like they knew something before I did.”

“I think there’s a lot of paranoia, fear, anxiety, worry and distrust in the people around you. Obviously a headline like that has absolutely no public interest whatsoever,” Harry continues. “There is a big difference between what interests the public and what is the public interest, so what happens in my private life between myself and [my] then girlfriend is just that, between us.”

When asked whether the hacking made Harry paranoid, he replies: “I think paranoia is a very interesting word, because yes, it could be paranoia, but if you’re right, that proves you weren’t paranoid. You know, the same goes for my mother.”

“You know, there’s evidence that she was hacked in the mid-1990s, probably one of the first people to be hacked, and yet the press, the tabloids, still enjoy portraying her as paranoid. But she wasn’t paranoid, she was completely right about what was happening to her. And she’s not here today to find out the truth.”

Harry has also filed lawsuits against News Group Newspapers (publishers of The Sun) and Associated Newspapers (publishers of the Daily Mail) in recent years.

Harry also tells the documentary that his determination to fight the tabloids has destroyed his relationship with his family. “That’s certainly a central part of it,” he explains. “But you know, that’s a hard question to answer because anything I say about my family results in a barrage of abuse in the press… I’ve made it very clear that this is something that has to be done. It would be fun if we did it as a family. I believe that, again, from a service perspective and if you’re in a public role, these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good. But you know, I do this for my reasons.

“I think everything that has happened has shown people what the truth is. For me the mission continues, but that’s true, yes. It was, as you say, caused by a rupture.”

Commenting on the documentary, Mirror Group Newspapers said: “We welcomed the December 2023 judgment which gave the company the clarity it needs to move forward from events that took place many years ago. Where historical misconduct has occurred, we offer our unreserved apologies, have taken full responsibility and paid compensation.”