As a new legal battle unfolds, Prince Harry takes another bold step in his relentless pursuit to hold the British tabloid industry accountable.
Prince Harry, now 40 and still unwilling to let history repeat itself, is back in court. This time, his focus is on News Group Newspapers, a publishing powerhouse owned by Rupert Murdoch, responsible for The Sun, The Times, and the now-shuttered News of the World. At the heart of his claim? The accusation that his phones were hacked, his privacy trampled.
The name News Group Newspapers is already infamous, steeped in controversy from a phone hacking scandal so damning it led to the closure of News of the World in 2011. Harry isn’t the first to accuse them, and he’s certainly not alone—over 1,300 claims of hacking have been settled. But in this ongoing saga, Harry remains the last person pushing for a public reckoning through the UK courts.
His crusade is deeply personal. He has long held the tabloid press responsible for the relentless harassment that shadowed his mother, Princess Diana, and ultimately, for the tragic circumstances of her death. Now, with his wife, Meghan Markle, facing a disturbingly similar onslaught, Harry is determined to dismantle the toxic machinery of tabloid journalism and force accountability.
The Long Shadow of the Scandal
The origins of Harry’s fight trace back to the 2000s when News of the World published stories that, as Harry asserts, could only have come from intercepted voicemails. One example? A 2005 piece revealing Prince William’s knee injury, a detail too private to have been obtained through legitimate means.
The private investigator behind much of this, Glenn Mulcaire, was jailed in 2007. Yet, the scandal didn’t erupt fully until 2011, when police reopened investigations and News of the World admitted to widespread hacking. The fallout was immense. Settlements were paid, former editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks faced trial (Coulson served time, while Brooks was acquitted), and the paper shut down. Yet for Harry, the story didn’t end there.
In 2019, he decided to act. Not content with apologies or settlements, he launched three lawsuits targeting the Mirror Group, News Group, and Associated Newspapers. In 2023, he became the first British royal in over a century to take the witness stand, winning a landmark case against The Daily Mirror for phone hacking. He was awarded €165,000 in damages—a symbolic victory in a fight he sees as far bigger than himself.
In his statement after the verdict, Harry said, “I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of fighting for a free and honest press, it’s a price worth paying.”
A Family Divided
This fight has come at a cost. The royal family, traditionally silent in the face of press attacks, hasn’t rallied behind Harry’s crusade. Court filings revealed that King Charles opposed his son’s lawsuits. Meanwhile, Prince William privately settled his own claim against News Group for what Harry described as a “huge sum.” These revelations only deepened the rift between Harry and his family, with the prince framing his battle against the tabloids as a central reason for their estrangement.
Now, having won his case against The Daily Mirror, Harry’s attention shifts to the Murdoch empire and The Sun.
Harry v. Murdoch
This latest case is expected to stretch over 10 weeks, with Harry set to testify again. The prince alleges that News Group journalists and their hired private investigators used a range of illegal methods to spy on him and his family between 1996 and 2011. These include phone hacking, bugging homes, and unlawfully accessing medical and flight records.
Joining Harry in this fight is Tom Watson, the former deputy leader of the Labour Party, who claims his voicemails were intercepted during his own investigation into the scandal. Both men argue that top executives not only authorized these practices but also actively worked to cover them up, allegedly destroying documents to evade scrutiny. News Group denies the accusations, dismissing Harry’s claim as outside the six-year legal limit.
Although News Group issued an apology to victims of News of the World hacking in 2011, they continue to deny wrongdoing by The Sun. For Harry, this case is about more than personal vindication—it’s about dismantling a culture of impunity within the tabloid industry.
As the trial begins, Harry’s mission continues to be met with resistance and skepticism. But if his track record shows anything, it’s that he isn’t afraid of a fight—even when the cost is high.