Harry claims he was blocked in getting apology from Rupert Murdoch 'to ensure Charles would be accepted as King'
25 April 2023, 22:33
Prince Harry has claimed his bid to get an apology from Rupert Murdoch was blocked so Charles and Camilla would be accepted as King and Queen Consort by the public - despite the late Queen backing him.
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As part of his lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN), which publishes The Sun, Harry claimed he wanted to "push for a resolution to our phone hacking claims" and have Mr Murdoch say sorry.
The late Queen gave him her blessing to proceed, as did William, in late 2017, the duke claims.
But Clarence House intervened because it wanted to keep the press onside to ensure Charles would be accepted as King and Camilla would be positively received as Queen Consort, he alleges.
He is suing NGN, which used to publish the now-defunct News of the World, over alleged unlawful information gathering at its titles.
NGN, which has settled claims relating to the News of the World, denies illegal activity at The Sun and wants the High Court case to be thrown out on the grounds the action is too late.
On Tuesday, Harry's written witness statement was made public, in which he described how he wanted to pursue an apology from Mr Murdoch before his wedding to Meghan.
He was angry at "appalling treatment" she was getting from newspapers, he said, and "frustrated" about a lack of progress on phone hacking allegations.
"I remember speaking to my brother and saying something along the lines of 'enough of this, I want to get permission to push for a resolution to our phone hacking claims and a formal apology from Murdoch before any of his people are allowed anywhere near the wedding', or words to that effect," he said.
He claimed William was understanding and supportive, and suggested he take it to "granny".
Harry said: "I spoke to her shortly afterwards and said something along the lines of: 'Are you happy for me to push this forward, do I have your permission?' And she said: 'Yes.'"
But Clarence House was "seemingly blocking our every move" in its bid to keep an influential part of the media "onside in order to smooth the way for my stepmother, and father, to be accepted by the British public as Queen Consort and King respectively".
He also claimed Buckingham Palace staff gave "very little support", despite the Queen's then-director of communications being green-lit to speak to NGN "on behalf of the institution".
"I remember one senior palace staff member saying that there couldn't be an apology to the Queen because she didn't have a claim," he said.
The Queen then allowed a further note to be sent to Robert Thomson, CEO of News Corporation and Rebekah Brooks, CEO of News UK, in March 2018 after what Harry described as "continued silence" from News International, the duke said.
But Harry was later told "nothing could be done" before his wedding by Gerrard Tyrrell, which Harry characterises as "the institution's lawyer taking direction from Clarence House".
He said: "Shortly before the wedding, we were informed by Gerrard Tyrrell that nothing could be done as NGN were not in a position to apologise to Her Majesty The Queen and the rest of the Royal Family at that stage on account of the fact that, if they did so, they would have to admit that not only was the News of the World involved in phone hacking but also The Sun, and that was something that they couldn't afford to do until the end of the litigation because it would seriously undermine their settlement strategy across all the other claims."
The duke added: "With hindsight, I now understand why staff at Clarence House were being so unhelpful and were seemingly blocking our every move, as they had a specific long term strategy to keep the media, including NGN, onside in order to smooth the way for my stepmother, and father, to be accepted by the British public as Queen Consort, and King respectively, when the time came, and anything that might upset the applecart in this regard, including the suggestion of resolution of our phone hacking claims, was to be avoided at all costs."
Anthony Hudson KC, for NGN, said while communications show "discussions took place between the Palace and NGN in 2017-2018 about resolving outstanding issues relating to allegations of (voicemail interception), they do not provide any support for a suggestion that there was an agreement by which NGN would forgo its right to bring a limitation defence in response to any claims by members of the royal family".
Harry said he was later told during his claims against NGN and Mirror Group Newspapers in 2019 that he should drop the action because it would affect the whole family.
He said this was "a direct request, or rather demand" from Charles, his private secretary and the late Queen's private secretary.
