Duke of Sussex: Queen wanted me to continue tabloid battle ‘to the end’

The Duke of Sussex claims that the late Queen wanted him to see his battle against tabloid newspapers “to the end”.

Harry gave his first major interview since the conclusion of his court case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) to the ITV documentary Tabloids On Trial, which aired on Thursday.

In clips released before the programme, he blamed his fight against the press as a “central piece” in destroying his relationship with his family.

The Duke was also asked towards the end of the documentary about claiming in a High Court filing that the late Queen, his grandmother, who died in 2022, “supported” his actions against the News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World.

He responded saying: “I wish … we had many conversations before she passed, and this is very much something that she supported.

“She knew how much this meant to me and … she’s very much out there, going see this through to the end, without question.”

In a witness statement, he had claimed that the late monarch wanted the media mogul Rupert Murdoch to “apologise”.

Harry is bringing a case against NGN over alleged unlawful information-gathering but not allegations of phone hacking, with a full trial due to be held in January.

NGN has previously denied unlawful activity took place at The Sun.

ITV News’ Rebecca Barry asked Harry about his family’s “decision not to fight in the way that you have?”

The duke replied, saying: “I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is.

“For me, the mission continues, but it has, yes, it’s caused, as you say, part of a rift.”

He stressed that those in a public role should do things for the “greater good”, before adding he was “doing this for my reasons”.

The duke sued MGN, alleging journalists at its publications were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” – gaining information by deception – and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.

A trial found 15 articles were the result of unlawful information gathering, and MGN and the duke settled the remainder of his claim in February with “a substantial additional sum by way of damages” and Harry’s legal costs.

This followed a ruling in December from Mr Justice Fancourt, which claimed phone hacking became “widespread and habitual” at MGN titles in the late 1990s and that Harry’s phone was hacked “to a modest extent” by the group, awarding him £140,600 in damages.

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.

They 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, Welsh singer Charlotte Church and former England footballer Paul Gascoigne, and former prime minister Gordon Brown appear in the ITV documentary.

Tabloids On Trial is available on ITVX.