Prince Harry says battle against British tabloids a "central piece" in "rift" with family

Prince Harry has revealed his fight against the British tabloids has impacted his relationship with his family.

In a new clip from his sit-down interview for the upcoming documentary Tabloids On Trial, the Duke of Sussex said it was the "central piece" in their widening "rift".

The 60-second preview, released on Wednesday (Thursday morning AEST), shows reporter Rebecca Barry asking if the court battles have "destroyed" his relationship with the royals.

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"Yeah, that's certainly a central piece to it," he replied.

"But, you know, that'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.

"I believe that, again, from a service standpoint and when you are in a public role, that these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good.

"But, you know, I'm doing this for my reasons."

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When asked by Barry how he feels about the decision by King Charles, Prince William and other members of the royal family not to join in the fight, he admitted it was a contributing factor to their "rift".

"I think everything that's played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is," he said.

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

Prince Harry said he believes his mother experienced similar issues with the British press to what he's been through, saying she "motivates" him to keep up the fight.

"There is evidence to suggest that she was being hacked in the mid-'90s, probably one of the first people to be hacked and yet still today, the press, the tabloid press very much enjoy painting her as being paranoid," Harry claims.

"But she wasn't paranoid, she was absolutely right about what was happening to her. And she's not around today to, to find out the truth."

It has never been proven in court that Princess Diana was hacked.

Prince Harry won his four-year legal battle against the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), in a case around unlawful information gathering.

A judge found two directors had "turned a blind eye and positively concealed" unlawful information gathering in 15 of the 33 newspaper articles in question at trial.

Speaking for the first time about his "monumental victory" in court last December against MGN, the Duke of Sussex said he felt "vindicated" by the outcome.

"When you're vindicated, it proves that you weren't being paranoid," Prince Harry told Barry.

During that trial in London, Prince Harry became the first senior member of the British royal family to give evidence on a witness stand in more than 130 years when he appeared in the witness box last June.

In response to the case being covered in the documentary, MGN said in a statement: "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," MGN said.

Tabloids on Trial will air in the UK tonight at 9pm (6am Friday AEST)

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