Why is he doing it? That’s the question everyone’s been asking since the Duke of Sussex published a deeply personal statement slamming the UK tabloid press for conducting what he called a “ruthless campaign” against his wife, Meghan.
As the bombshell statement was released on a specially-created website, Buckingham Palace confirmed that the Duchess of Sussex was suing The Mail on Sunday for unlawfully publishing private correspondence with her father while editing it to change its meaning. The newspaper’s publishers deny that and cite Meghan’s father, Thomas Markle, as the one who only wanted parts of the letter released.
Separately, Prince Harry has joined a legal action against the publishers of the Sun and Mirror over alleged phone hacking.
The lawsuits are a rare, but not entirely unprecedented, move from the British royal family and they triggered numerous headlines over the weekend. One in the broadsheet Telegraph read “Prince Harry ‘badly advised’ in decision to take on the press.” The article went on to discuss Harry’s “war against the tabloid media.”
“There are fears among those close to the palace that the Prince’s move will put him at the centre of an unnecessary row over the freedom of the press,” the Telegraph’s team of reporters wrote.
Meanwhile, in a column for the Observer, Princess Diana’s former Private Secretary Patrick Jefferson suggested that the strategy could backfire.
But as impulsive as Harry’s statement may feel, the legal maneuvers had been in the works for months, royal sources told CNN.
And there’s nothing to suggest the 35-year-old royal has any intention of backing down, despite his critics suggesting his actions were wrong.