Prince Harry Blames UK Tabloids For 'Rift' With King Charles, Prince William; Says 'It's A Central Piece' In Feud
Prince Harry believes his ongoing fight against U.K. tabloids is one of the major reasons why he remains estranged from his father King Charles III and older brother Prince William.
In a new ITV documentary, which premieres Thursday, Prince Harry discussed the differences in the approach he and the royal family have taken when dealing with tabloids and the role it has played in their ongoing rift.
Over the past several years, the Duke of Sussex has been vocal about his grievances with some British tabloids and has filed four lawsuits against U.K. publishers over allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful acts.
In contrast, Prince William allegedly quietly agreed to settle out of court in 2020 with one of the publishers Prince Harry is suing, News Group Newspapers (NGN), and received a "very large sum of money." Prince Harry also claimed that NGN and the royal family had a "secret agreement," Sky News reported.
In a teaser for "Tabloids On Trial," ITV reporter Rebecca Barry asked Prince Harry, "To what extent do you think your determination to fight the tabloids destroyed the relationship with your family?"
"It is certainly a central piece to it," Prince Harry responded.
The Duke of Sussex admitted that it was a difficult subject to talk about publicly because "anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press."
Prince Harry then seemingly called on the royal family to join him in holding tabloids accountable.
"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," he said during the sit-down. "I believe that from a service standpoint and when you're in a public role, that these are the things we should be doing for the greater good. But I'm doing this for my reasons."
When asked about the royals' decision to keep mum on the issue, Prince Harry made it clear that he will continue to pursue legal action against publishers regardless of whether or not he has the support of his family.
"I think everything's that played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is. For me, the mission continues," he explained in the documentary teaser. "But it has caused part of a rift."
In December last year, a judge ruled in favor of Prince Harry in his phone hacking lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), the publisher of Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and The Sunday People.
His cases against NGN and Associated Newspapers are ongoing.
"We welcomed the judgment in December 2023 that gave the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago," MGN said in a statement to ITV.
"Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid compensation."
