appConfigEntityId

bodyType

customContents

entityId

entityUuid

articlePageQuery

filter

article

articleBaseAdvertisingInfoArticle

articleListArticle

articleSeoArticle

hooksArticleAcknowledgementGateOverlayArticle

hooksTrackPageViewArticle

hooksContentInterestArticle

articleLinkingDataContent

hooksAmpRedirectArticle

articleSchemaContent

hooksArticlePageAdvertisementConfigArticle

liveArticle

appConfig

advertZone

sentiment

contentLock

topics

types

sections

paywallTypes

createdDate

publishedDate

sponsorType

urlAlias

moreOnThisArticles

sectionsV2

commentCount

authorLocations

authors

corrections

displaySlideShow

multimediaEmbed

printHeadline

seriesContainer

articleSpeeches

socialHeadline

headline

images

flag

firstTopic

glossary

flattenTypeIds

image

relatedLinks

relatedNewsletters

__typename

sponsor

pdfFiles

seriesReverseOrder

series

disableOffPlatformContent

published

updatedDate

summary

subHeadline

body

keywords

readingTime

customTimezone

liveContents

json

Agence France-Presse

Prince Harry has launched legal action against two British tabloid newspaper publishers over alleged phone hacking – just days after he condemned the press for critical coverage of his wife.
Harry, 35, extended his campaign against the tabloids with fresh action after suing another newspaper for alleged invasion of privacy.
Reports said the new claims concerned phone hacking allegations.
“We can confirm that a claim has been issued by the Duke of Sussex,” News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun daily and the now-defunct News of the World, said in a statement. “We have no further comment to make at the current time.”

A source at the Daily Mirror newspaper’s publishers Reach said they were aware that proceedings had been issued but they had not yet received them.
Britain’s domestic Press Association (PA) news agency said a royal source confirmed the claims were “regarding the illegal interception of voicemail messages”. Sky News television carried the same confirmation.
The move comes three days after Harry, sixth in line to the throne, launched legal action for invasion of privacy against The Mail on Sunday after it published a letter from his wife Meghan to her father.
It was accompanied by a stinging attack on the tabloid media over its coverage of Meghan – an exceptional move by a member of the royal family.

In it, Harry said the duchess was being hounded by the press in the same way as his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, was before her death in 1997.
“My deepest fear is history repeating itself,” he said. “My wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year.
“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious.”
Meghan sues UK tabloid as Harry fears ‘repeat’ of what happened with Diana
It came as they wrapped up a tour of southern Africa on behalf of his grandmother Queen Elizabeth – which was broadly well-received in the British press.
But Harry said positive coverage of the trip “exposes the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily”.
“I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long.”
Harry has previously criticised the “racial undertones of comment pieces” about Meghan, a mixed-race US actress whom he married last year.

Commentators have wondered whether Harry went solo or consulted more senior royals such as Queen Elizabeth, and his father Prince Charles, before penning this week’s outburst.
Royal biographer Penny Junor claimed Harry’s highly personal statement was “probably very ill-judged” and would make his relationship with the press “quite awkward” in future.
While there have been some negative stories about the duchess, the author did not believe there had been a “ruthless campaign to do down Meghan”.
She told PA that Harry “might regret … poking the bear” with his “very overemotional outburst”.
‘Emotional’ Prince Harry retraces Diana’s footsteps in Angola minefield
The Sun, in its editorial on Thursday, hit back at the prince and his “self-pitying petulance”.
“Harry’s war on the press is unhinged. The Queen should have a word before he does the royals even more lasting damage,” the paper said.
“We will call out their hypocrisy when merited. And stories about Meghan’s controversial family are justified.
“Criticism is not ‘bullying’. This precious pair simply need a thicker skin.”

The phone hacking scandal first blew up in 2006, when stories in the News of the World about Harry’s brother Prince William were found to have come from voicemail interception targeting his aides.
It then resurfaced in 2011, as allegations surfaced of hacking operations that went wider than the royals to celebrities and murder victims. It sparked the closure of the News of the World, the Sunday tabloid which had been Britain’s biggest-selling newspaper.
The scandal triggered a mammoth police investigation, an inquiry led by a judge, and criminal charges that gripped Britain for the next few years.
Hacked Off, which campaigns for tighter press regulation, said Harry’s move “shows how much more of the phone hacking scandal may yet reach the public domain”.


UK PM Starmer says ‘not going to yield’ to Trump’s Mideast war threats

Xi Jinping meets foreign leaders: tracker 2026

Global funds fuel Hong Kong IPO rebound as investors rebalance China portfolios: HKEX

Paul Chan backs Hong Kong to be world’s No 2 financial hub within 15 years

Britain

Prince Harry sues UK tabloids over alleged phone hacking, intensifying battle against media

Britain's Prince Harry speaks during his visit to South Africa. Photo: Reuters

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex(front) arrives at the British High Commissioner residency in Johannesburg where he will meet with Graca Machel, widow of former South African president Nelson Mandela, in Johannesburg, on October 2, 2019. - Prince Harry recalled the hounding of his late mother Diana to denounce media treatment of his wife Meghan Markle, as the couple launched legal action against a British tabloid for invasion of privacy. (Photo by Michele Spatari / AFP)

epa07889072 Britain's Prince Harry (R), and Meghan the Duchess of Sussex (L) during a function at the British High Commissioners residence, Johannesburg, South Africa, 02 October 2019. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are on an official visit to South Africa ending Wednesday. EPA-EFE/KIM LUDBROOK

FILE - In this Sunday, Sept. 29 2019 file photo, Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the Nalikule College of Education to learn about the CAMA network and how it is supporting young women in Malawi on day seven of the royal tour of Africa in Lilongwe, Malawi. The final day of Prince Harry and his wife Meghan’s 10-day visit to Africa with infant son Archie in tow has been overshadowed by a lawsuit she has filed against Britain’s Mail on Sunday tabloid. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool Photo via AP, File)

Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, looks on as Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, gives a speech, during a visit to the Youth Employment Services (YES) Hub in Tembisa township, near Johannesburg, South Africa, October 2, 2019. REUTERS/Toby Melville TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Meghan sues British tabloid as Prince Harry compares media ‘bullying’ of wife to coverage of Princess Diana

Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, visits ActionAid International in Johannesburg, South Africa, on Tuesday. Photo: Reuters

Britain's Prince Harry sits with students during a visit to the Nalikule College of Education to learn about the CAMA network and how it is supporting young women in Malawi on day seven of the royal tour of Africa in Lilongwe, Malawi, Sunday, Sept. 29 2019. Prince Harry's wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex appeared via a Skype video call during the prince's visit to the Nalikule College of Education. (Dominic Lipinski/Pool Photo via AP)

Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, visits ActionAid International ahead of visiting a school to learn about a local charity working to tackle sexual violence in schools, Johannesburg, South Africa, October 1, 2019. Mark Large/Pool via REUTERS

Britain’s Prince Harry wins substantial damages after news agency hired helicopter to take aerial pictures of his private home

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex greets well-wishers as he arrives at the Barton Neighbourhood Centre in Oxford. Photo: EPA-EFE

Britain's Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex is given a congratulations card as he meets members of the public as he arrives for a visit to Barton Neighbourhood Centre in Oxford, England Tuesday, May 14, 2019. The centre is a hub for local residents which houses a doctor's surgery, food bank, cafe and youth club. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth, pool)

Elton John blasts ‘relentless character assassination’ of Prince Harry and Meghan

Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, greets Canadian producer David Furnish as British singer-songwriter Elton John speaks with Britain's Meghan, Duchess of Sussex. Photo: Reuters

News

World

Europe


The British royal launched the legal action over alleged interception of voicemail messages
This comes days after he condemned the tabloid media for its treatment of his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex



The British royal launched the legal action over the alleged interception of voicemail messages, days after he condemned the tabloid media for its treatment of his wife.


Royalty

Fame and celebrity