Prince Harry Said the Tabloids Were a ‘Central Piece’ to Destroying His Relationship With the Royal Family
Prince Harry ‘s relationship with the royal family has been nothing short of rocky over the past five or six years. The Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, stepped back from their working royal roles in 2020 after massive tensions developed between the couple and the other royals.
But Harry has now recently said that it wasn’t just words and decisions made by family members that contributed to the royal rift; he revealed that tabloids were a “central piece” of ruining his relationship with his family.
Prince Harry heavily blames the tabloids as what ‘destroyed’ his family relationships
Harry and Meghan first started dating in 2016, and she was immediately berated by the press. Tabloids dug into Meghan’s past, eventually causing the royals to release a statement about giving her some peace and privacy. And when Meghan wrote a private note to her father that was later published in a British tabloid, she sued and won. Now, in a new interview, Prince Harry has revealed that the tabloids were essential to damaging his royal relationships.
“To what extent do you think your determination to fight the tabloids destroyed the relationship with your family?” Rebecca Barry of ITV asked Harry in the documentary “Tabloids on Trial,” which aired in the UK on July 25.
“Yes, I think that’s a central piece to it,” Harry said. “But it’s a hard question to answer because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press.”
Harry also added that he wants to get his family involved in taking on the press, but it seems like it hasn’t been so easy. “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.”
Queen Elizabeth II ‘supported’ Prince Harry’s decision to sue the press
Harry has never been a fan of the press; he largely attributes the paparazzi to his mother Princess Diana’s tragic 1997 car accident. When Harry and Meghan were in New York City in 2023, they allegedly were followed by the paparazzi for close to two hours. And Harry and Meghan have both sued the tabloids for differing reasons; Meghan won the letter scandal, and Harry won his case after suing over phone hacking that took place way back in 2003.
The recent ITV documentary detailed Harry’s disappointment with the tabloids and how it played a key role in everything going downhill between him and his family. But he also revealed that the press has impacted Meghan’s ability to visit the United Kingdom. ““It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country,” he said. He also added his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, supported Harry’s decision to sue the press. “This is very much something she supported. She knew how much this meant to me.”
