Speaking out against the royal family once more. Prince Harry accused The Firm of withholding information during this lawsuit against a British publishing company.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, is one of the several high-profile stars involved in the lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited over the unlawful alleged gathering of information, including invasion of privacy and phone-tapping. Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and Baroness Doreen Lawrence are also plaintiffs in the case against the media giant, which also owns the Daily Mail, Mail Online and the Mail on Sunday.
Harry, for his part, claimed he was made aware of phone-tapping by the now-defunct News of the World tabloid — which was part of Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN) — in 2005 but was allegedly told by his relatives to not pursue legal action.
“The Institution made it clear that we did not need to know anything about phone hacking and it was made clear to me that the royal family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms,” the Archewell cofounder said in a witness statement on Tuesday, March 28.
He continued: “The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN’s phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation.”
The Spare author went on to say it was “not an exaggeration to say the bubble burst” based on what he was made aware of prior to him leaving the United Kingdom with wife Meghan Markle. The couple stepped down as working members of the royal family in January 2020 and subsequently moved to California with son Archie, now 3 years old. (The pair, who wed in 2018, later welcomed daughter Lilibet, 21 months old.)
In October 2022, the Invictus Games founder decided to take legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited after learning of “compelling and highly distressing evidence that they have been the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy,” per a statement released by the U.K. law firm Hamlins, who is representing the group of A-listers.
Harry, for his part, has frequently spoken out against his family in recent years. In the past several months, the prince released his tell-all memoir, Spare, was extensively interviewed for Harry & Meghan, Netflix’s docuseries with the Duchess of Sussex, 41.
In his tell-all, Harry detailed his many ups and downs with his father, King Charles III, and brother Prince William. Among the accusations against Charles, 74, and William, 40, Harry revealed in the memoir that he and his brother got into a physical altercation after an argument over the Suits alum. He also accused William of discouraging him from pursuing a relationship with Meghan. As for his relationship with his father, Harry alleged that his father’s team leaked his plans to leave his royal duties which also led to an argument with the monarch and his brother over his decision to step down.
While promoting his book, the retired military pilot did several sit-down interviews to tell his side of the story and where he stands with his brood.
“I don’t think that we can ever have peace with my family unless the truth is out there,” he said during a Good Morning America segment in January. “There’s a lot that I can forgive, but there needs to be conversations in order for reconciliation, and part of that has to be accountability. … I just hope that there’s a way that we can have a conversation that is trusted within that conversation that isn’t then spilled to the British press.
