Prince Harry says Queen would be ‘up there’ supporting his battle against tabloid newspapers

Prince Harry has spoken of how his grandmother Queen Elizabeth II had always supported his long-running feud with British tabloids in a TV documentary.

The Duke of Sussex was giving his first major interview on ITV’s Tabloids on Trial since the conclusion of his court case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), in which a High Court judge ruled the group had unlawfully gathered information for stories published about him.

He told the 75-minute programme, which also featured Paul Gascogine and Charlotte Church, how his determination to fight the press had become a “central piece” in destroying his relationship with the royal family.

But he also shared how he had many private conversations with his late grandmother the Queen, who he said “supported his actions.

He told ITV: “We had many conversations before she passed. This is very much something she supported.”

Pointing to the sky, he said: “She knew how much this meant to me and she’s very much up there going, ‘See this through to the end’, without question.”

Earlier in the programme, Prince Harry said he would not bring his wife, Meghan Markle, back to the UK over fears for both their safety after a plethora of negative stories.

Asked if he’s just seeking attention through the court battles, he said: “There is more than enough attention on me and my wife anyway.

“There was… they pushed me too far. It got to a point where you’re damned if you do, you’re damned if you don’t. I don’t think there’s anybody else in the world that is better suited and placed to be able to see this through than myself.

“It’s still dangerous. And all it takes is one lone actor, one person who reads this stuff, to act on what they have read…

“And whether it’s a knife or acid, whatever it is. And these are things that are a genuine concern for me. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”

Meghan has not returned to the UK since Queen Elizabeth II’s funeral in 2022. The pair relocated to California in 2020 after stepping back from their roles as working members of the royal family.

Harry alleged in the 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 Firm’ and senior NGN executives, and that his bid for an apology from media mogul Rupert Murdoch was blocked by Charles’s staff.

Asked on the ITV programme if his determination to fight the tabloids destroyed the relationship with his family, Harry said: “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.”

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 has also brought legal action against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations it carried out or commissioned unlawful information-gathering, which are all denied by the newspaper group.

He is also one of a group of high-profile people, including Sir Elton John and Baroness Lawrence of Clarendon, who 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.

The legal claims are in the preliminary stages.

Celebrities including Notting Hill actor Hugh Grant, singer Charlotte Church, footballer Paul Gascoigne and former prime minister Gordon Brown also appear in the ITV documentary.

Tabloids On Trial can be streamed on ITVX