Prince Harry has revealed how his battle against the British tabloids in court has been “central” to his long-standing rift with the Royal Family.
In a brand new documentary, the Duke of Sussex has opened up about his experience in taking the UK press to court in a rare interview with the media in his home country, the Express reports.
In a clip from Tabloids on Trial, which is set to air on Thursday July 25 at 9pm on ITV1 and ITVX, the 39-year-old prince discusses his case against the British tabloids to Rebecca Barry and opens up about how it has affected his relationship with his family.
Ms Barry asks: “To what extent do you think your determination to fight the tabloids destroyed the relationship with your family?”
Harry replies: “Yes, I think that’s 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 from 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, I believe from a service standpoint and in a public role these are the things we should be doing.”
The duke received £146,000 in damages by the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) in February after he claimed that information about him that was published had been obtained through phone hacking and other illegal methods.
In a statement, an MGN spokesperson said: “We welcomed the judgement in December 2023 that gave the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago.
“Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid compensation.”
Harry also has ongoing civil cases against the publishers of The Sun and the Daily Mail, who have both denied all allegations of illegal information gathering.
The documentary explores a series of newspaper headlines from the 2000s while the duke narrates parts of the programme.
Harry spoke about how he felt unable to trust those around him and was overwhelmed by “paranoia” and “fear” while this intrusion into his private life was going on.
The prince also argued there had been no public interest motive to justify these stories about his past relationships.
Harry compared his court cases against the press to the battle of “David vs Goliath”, as he claims to be standing up for those less powerful and influential than him who have also fallen victim to the media.
Meanwhile, Harry’s estranged older brother, Prince William, settled his own case against News Group Newspapers for a large sum of money.