Prince Harry has acknowledged that his ongoing fight against the British tabloids has significantly contributed to his rift with the royal family, according to a documentary airing Thursday.
In his most extensive comments since his legal victory last year—when a judge ruled that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at the U.K.’s Mirror Group Newspapers—the Duke of Sussex told ITV that he wished his family had supported his privacy litigation.
Harry, who made history as the first senior royal in over a century to testify in court, described his public battle with the tabloids as a “central piece” of his family fallout.
“The mission continues, but it has, yes, it’s caused, as you say, part of a rift,” Harry said in the documentary “Tabloids On Trial.”
Harry, 39, the younger son of King Charles III, broke with the family’s traditional “never complain, never explain” stance by taking legal action against the press.
In legal filings, Harry revealed that his father opposed his litigation and disclosed that his older brother, William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had secretly settled a complaint against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers for a “huge” sum.
The lawsuits are not the only source of family friction. Harry and his wife, Meghan, distanced themselves from the royal family by moving to the U.S. in 2020, citing media intrusions and racism directed at Meghan, who is biracial. The couple later suggested there was racial bias within the royal family, an allegation that further strained relations before Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” confirmed the division.
Harry mentioned the difficulty of discussing his strained family ties, noting that “anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.”
The documentary also features actor Hugh Grant, former Prime Minister Gordon Brown, and England soccer great Paul Gascoigne.
Grant, involved with the group “Hacked Off” that exposes the impact of the widespread phone hacking scandal that closed Murdoch’s News of the World in 2011, recently settled his lawsuit against News Group for a substantial sum. He reluctantly settled due to court policies that could have saddled him with a £10 million ($12.9 million) legal bill if he was awarded less than the settlement offer. Grant accused The Sun of unlawfully tapping his phone, bugging his car, and breaking into his home.
“I don’t hold massive grievances against the foot soldiers… But I remain bitter and determined to exact justice on the executives who commissioned this stuff,” Grant said.
Harry’s legal battle continues with ongoing lawsuits against News Group and the publisher of the Daily Mail, which disputes his claims. News Group issued an apology in 2011 for voicemail interception by the News of the World and has settled 1,300 claims, though The Sun has never accepted liability.
Harry expressed his desire for his family to have taken a stand against media offenses for “the greater good,” but acknowledged, “I’m doing this for my reasons. I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is.”