Prince Harry is pointing blame elsewhere for the “central piece” that contributed to the breakdown of his relationship with the royal family.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, has blamed his legal battles with the British tabloids for worsening his relations with the Firm, despite throwing his family under the bus numerous times.
He added that his estranged family’s unwillingness to fight against the press has also added fuel to the fire.
Prince Harry has revealed the “central piece” that contributed to the breakdown of his relationship with the royal family.ITV News
“I think that’s certainly a central piece to it,” Harry told ITV’s Rebecca Barry as part of the network’s new documentary titled “Tabloids on Trial.”
The Duke of Sussex, 39, has blamed his legal battles with the British tabloids for worsening his relations with the Firm.AP“But that’s a hard question to answer, because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press,” he added.
The new hourlong documentary focuses on the 2011 phone-hacking scandal, as well as the multiple lawsuits Harry has brought against publishers in recent years.
“I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done, it would be nice if we did it as a family,” the father of two said.
“I believe that from a service standpoint and when you’re in a public role, these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good. I’m doing this for my reasons.”
Harry added that his estranged family’s unwillingness to fight against the tabloids has also added fuel to the fire.ITV News
“I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is,” he went on, adding that his family’s lack of action has also disheartened him.
“For me, the mission continues, but yes, it’s caused part of a rift,” he added.
The prince, who quit royal life in 2020 and moved to the US with his wife, Meghan Markle, was awarded $180,700 in December 2023 after London’s High Court ruled he had been the victim of “modest” phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering by journalists on British newspapers.
“I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done, it would be nice if we did it as a family,” Harry said.AFP via Getty Images
Harry — who became the first senior British royal in 130 years to give evidence in court when he appeared as the star witness at the trial in June 2023 — had sued Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, in 2019.
The royal said he was targeted by MGN for 15 years from 1996 and that more than 140 stories which appeared in its papers were the result of unlawful information gathering, though the trial only considered 33 of these.
Last month, the duke was accused of “deliberately destroying” potential evidence in his phone-hacking claim against the publisher of the Sun.
More than six months after the ruling, an attorney for the publisher of the British tabloid claimed that Harry engaged in “shocking” and “extraordinary” obfuscation.
Attorney Anthony Hudson said at High Court that Harry had deliberately destroyed text messages with the ghostwriter who penned his bombshell memoir, “Spare,” released in January 2023.
The duke’s lawyer has since denied the claims, saying News Group Newspapers was engaging in a “classic fishing expedition” by requesting documents so late in the case.
Harry must now personally disclose how drafts of his protocol-shattering book, as well as messages between him and his ghostwriter, were destroyed “well after” he launched the lawsuit five years ago.
Harry was awarded $180,700 in December 2023 after London’s High Court ruled he had been the victim of “modest” phone hacking.Getty Images
Despite him partially blaming the media, Harry and his wife created tension with the royal family by exposing their secrets in their bombshell interview with Oprah Winfrey, their six-part Netflix documentary, and Harry’s memoir, “Spare.”
During the Winfrey interview, Markle, 42, had revealed that the royal family raised “concerns” with Harry over the potential darkness of their son Archie’s skin.
Harry backed up his wife’s claims, telling Oprah: “That conversation I am never going to share, but at the time it was awkward. I was a bit shocked.”
In “Spare,” Harry went after Queen Consort Camilla, accusing his stepmother of getting her PR person to “spin” him “right under the bus.” He also described Camilla, 77, as a “villain” in his interview with Anderson Cooper when he was promoting his book.
Harry also detailed his rift with his brother Prince William in his book. He referred to the future king, 42, as his “beloved brother and arch nemesis” and detailed past verbal and sometimes physical fights they got in.
