Prince Harry has claimed his fight against the British tabloid media contributed to his rift with his family members.
In the ITV1 documentary, Tabloids on Trial, the royal spoke out for the first time about the December High Court ruling that he was hacked and had private information unlawfully obtained by Mirror Group Newspapers.
He said the intrusion into his private life lead to “paranoia, and fear and worry, concern, distrust around the people around you.”
The Duke of Sussex said such worries may be seen as paranoia – until you are vindicated, and claimed: “The same as my mother [Princess Diana]. There is evidence to suggest that she was being hacked in the mid-90s, possibly one of the first people to be hacked.”
His approach is very different to the one his brother Prince William reportedly took.
He is said to have settled a phone hacking claim against News Group Newspapers in March 2023 for a “very large sum”.
“To what extent do you think your determination to fight the tabloids destroyed the relationship with your family?” ITV’s Rebecca Barry asked.
Harry replied: “That’s certainly a central piece to it. But... it’s a hard question to answer, because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse in the press.
“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 – again, from a service standpoint, when you’re in a public role, these are the things we should be doing for the greater good.”
“What do you think about their decision not to fight in the way that you have?” Barry asked.
“I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is,” Harry replied.
“For me the mission continues. But it has, as you say, it’s caused part of a rift.”
EXCL: “Paranoia, fear, distrust”: Prince Harry on the impact of hacking.
— Rebecca Barry (@BeccaBarry) July 24, 2024
In our ITV1 documentary, Tabloids on Trial, he speaks for the first time about his High Court win against Mirror Group Newspapers.
Telling me the ruling was a “monumental victory”. pic.twitter.com/iooNCcLGQi
Harry has ongoing cases against two other tabloid publishers over claims they used unlawful means for stories about him, although he dropped a libel case against the publisher of the Mail (Associated Newspapers) earlier this year.
He also had a lawsuit against the government’s decision to grant him security protection when in the UK too, but he lost that case in January.
The High Court ruled the Duke of Sussex was not improperly stripped of his publicly-funded security detail after he gave up his status as a working royal.
He is set to appeal that decision.
