Harry says his mission against tabloids played central part in rift with royals

The duke agreed that his determination to seek justice against allegations of phone hacking was a ‘central piece’ in destroying family relationships.

The Duke of Sussex being interviewed for the ITV programme (ITV/PA)A close up picture of Harry being interviewed

The Duke of Sussex has described how his determination to fight the tabloids was a “central piece” in destroying his relationship with his family, with the “rift” in part due to his mission.

Harry said he wished his family had joined together with him in his campaign in the wake of the phone hacking scandal, as he gave an interview to ITV for its Tabloids On Trial documentary.

The duke has faced a strained relationship with his father the King in recent years and an ongoing rift with his brother the Prince of Wales, which worsened post-Megxit, and after his Netflix documentary and his memoir Spare.

Harry alleged in a High Court claim last year that William reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers (NGN) for a “huge sum of money” over hacking claims in 2020.

The duke claimed he could not bring his own claim sooner because of a “secret agreement” between the royal institution and senior NGN executives, and that his bid for an apology from media mogul Rupert Murdoch was blocked by Charles’ staff.

In the documentary being screened on Thursday, when asked by ITV News’ Rebecca Barry if his determination to fight the tabloids destroyed the relationship with his family, Harry replied: “Yeah, that’s certainly a central piece to it.

“But, you know, 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, you know, did it as a family.”

He stressed that those in a public role should do things for the greater good.

“I believe that, again, from a service standpoint and when you are in a public role, that these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good,” he said.

“But, you know, I’m doing this for my reasons.”

Barry asked: “What do you think of their decision not to fight in the way that you have?”

The duke replied: “I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is.

“For me, the mission continues, but it has, yes, it’s caused, as you say, part of a rift.”

He also suggested his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, was probably one of the first people to be hacked in the mid-nineties, saying she was not paranoid but correct about what she was experiencing.

Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 when Harry was 12, was not here to find out the truth now, he added.

Harry said: “Still today, the tabloid press very much enjoy painting her as being paranoid.

“But she wasn’t paranoid, she was absolutely right of what was happening to her. And she’s not around today to find out the truth.”

Looking at a headline from when he was dating former girlfriend Chelsy Davy, Harry said: “‘Harry’s girl to dump him’ – seems as though they knew something before I even did.”

He added: “I think there’s a lot of I guess, paranoia, fear, worry, concern, distrust in the people around you, clearly a headline like that has absolutely no public interest whatsoever.”

The interview is Harry’s first major one since the conclusion of his court case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

Hugh Grant, Charlotte Church and Paul Gascoigne are among the celebrities who also feature in the documentary as they share their experiences.

The duke, 39, sued MGN for damages, claiming journalists at its publications were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” – gaining information by deception – and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.

In December, Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that phone hacking became “widespread and habitual” at MGN titles in the late 1990s and that Harry’s phone was hacked “to a modest extent” by MGN, awarding him £140,600 in damages.

A trial found 15 articles were the result of unlawful information gathering, and MGN and Harry also settled the remainder of his claim in February with “a substantial additional sum by way of damages” and Harry’s legal costs.

Harry hit out at former Mirror editor Piers Morgan in a statement in February, adding: “We have uncovered and proved the shockingly dishonest way in which the Mirror acted for so many years, and then sought to conceal the truth.”

The duke told ITV the judge’s ruling was a “monumental victory”.

MGN said in response to the programme: “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.

“Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid compensation.”

Harry is also one of a group of high-profile people, including Sir Elton John and Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, bringing legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations it carried out or commissioned unlawful information-gathering.

They have accused Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) of allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blagging” private records, burglaries to order and accessing and recording private phone conversations.

ANL has firmly denied the allegations. The legal claims are in the preliminary stages.

Meanwhile, Harry also alleges he was targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers, the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World.

He is bringing a case against NGN over alleged unlawful information-gathering but not allegations of phone hacking, with a full trial due to be held in January.

Grant settled a High Court claim against the publisher of The Sun after being advised he risked being liable for a £10 million legal bill if his case went to trial.

NGN has previously denied unlawful activity took place at The Sun.

Tabloids On Trial airs on ITV1 & ITVX at 9pm on Thursday.