FILE - Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending an Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London, on May 8, 2024. Prince Harry said that his crusade against the British tabloids has contributed to his royal family rift, according to a documentary airing Thursday July 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, File)
LONDON (AP) – Prince Harry said his crusade against the British tabloids has contributed to his royal family rift, according to a documentary airing Thursday.
In his most extensive comments since he won a major victory last year when a judge found phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at the U.K.’s Mirror Group Newspapers, the Duke of Sussex told the broadcaster ITV that he wished his family had joined him in his invasion of privacy litigation.
Harry said his ongoing battle with the tabloids in public – becoming the the first senior royal in over a century to testify in court – was a “central piece” to his family fallout.
“The mission continues, but it has, yes, it’s caused, as you say, part of a rift,” Harry said in “Tabloids On Trial.”
Harry, 39, the younger son of King Charles III, broke with the family’s attitude of “never complain, never explain” by taking the press to court.
His father opposed his litigation, Harry said in legal filings. He also revealed that his older brother William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had secretly settled a complaint against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers for a “huge” sum.
The lawsuits, however, are not the only source of family friction.
Harry literally distanced himself from his kin when he and his wife, Meghan, opted to leave royal life for the U.S. in 2020. They cited intrusions and a racist attitude by the media toward Meghan, who is biracial. The couple later suggested there was racial bias within the royal family, an allegation likely to have further alienated Harry before his memoir, “Spare” removed all doubt there was a division.
The duke said it was difficult to answer a question about his strained bonds “”because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.”
The program also features actor Hugh Grant, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown and England soccer great Paul Gascoigne.
Grant, who is involved with the group “Hacked Off” to expose the impact from the widespread phone hacking scandal that sank Murdoch’s News of the World in 2011, recently settled his lawsuit against News Group for what he called “an enormous sum of money.”
Grant said he reluctantly settled because a court policy that discourages lengthy trials could stick him with a 10 million pound ($12.9 million) legal bill if he was awarded anything less than the settlement offer.
Grant accused The Sun tabloid of unlawfully tapping his phone, bugging his car and breaking into his home to snoop on him, among other intrusions.
“I don’t hold massive grievances against the foot soldiers, or these guys who did this stuff, not against them,” Grant said in the documentary. “But I remain bitter and determined to exact justice on the executives who commissioned this stuff.”
Harry continues in his fight. His lawsuit against News Group is ongoing and he has a similar case pending against the publisher of the Daily Mail, which disputes his claims.
News Group issued an unreserved apology in 2011 to victims of voicemail interception by the News of the World, which closed its doors after a phone hacking scandal. NGN said it has settled 1,300 claims for its newspapers, though The Sun has never accepted liability.
Harry said he wished his family had taken a stand against media offenses for “the greater good.”
“But, you know, I’m doing this for my reasons,” he said. “I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is.”
