Prince Harry has reportedly “torpedoed any remaining bridges” with his family, according to an insider and friend of King Charles. This, the source told The Daily Beast, is allegedly because the Spare author, 38, accused the monarchy of “conditioning” him and cynically “withholding information” about phone hacking from him so that he wouldn’t “open a can of worms” with a court appearance.
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Is Trust "Gone" Between Prince Harry, William And King Charles? An Insider Says So
The source also supposedly noted that Charles, 74, and Prince William, 40, said no to a chance to see Harry this week since "the trust" between these family members is "gone." They added, "Harry has torpedoed any remaining bridges with this statement. It is just six weeks until the coronation and the last thing Charles needs."
Harry claims that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL)— publisher of The Daily Mail— invaded his privacy while using private detectives to intercept his calls and voicemails. The father of two isn't alone as he and six other claimants— including Elton John— allege that ANL even put tracking devices and listening tools within their cars and homes to spy on them. ANL, however, denies all of these allegations.
When the insider was asked if they were surprised that Charles declined to meet Harry during his recent trip to the U.K. (with the King's office briefing noting that he was "too busy" to do so), the source said, "The trust is gone and I think that’s been made quite clear by the king refusing to meet him."
Harry has been attending the opening sessions of the trial in person in London, and in a witness statement entered into court records on March 28th, he alleged collusion between News Group Newspapers— publisher of The Times and the Sun— and his family.
Prince William also reportedly skipped the opportunity to see his brother and as The Daily Beast notes, is "unlikely to be impressed by Harry’s efforts on behalf of the nation." Another source supposedly sat down with the outlet and said, "William is over it at this stage. If this was about his vendetta with the Mail that would be one thing. But Harry keeps doing everything in his power to try and embarrass the family. How can you have a relationship with someone who is doing that?"
Takeaways From Prince Harry's Court Witness Statement
"There was in place an agreement between the Institution and NGN that we would not engage, or even discuss, the possibility of bringing claims against NGN until the litigation against it relating to phone hacking was over," Harry said. "The Institution made it clear that we did not need to know anything about phone hacking and it was made clear to me that the royal family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms."
The Duke of Sussex added, "The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN’s phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation."
As anyone who read Harry's memoir Spare or watched his and wife Meghan Markle's six-part Netflix documentary series Harry & Meghan knows, he has made similar claims before. He's alleged on several occasions that his family members and their staff colluded with the press, and as The Daily Beast writes, "on occasion selling him out to win favors for themselves."
In another part of Harry's witness statement, the former royal said he only become aware of the extent of alleged hacking against him "in 2020 when I moved out of the United Kingdom." He continued, "There was never any centralized discussion between us about who had brought claims as each office in the Institution is siloed. There is this misconception that we are all in constant communication with one another but that is not true."
Harry’s comments seem to be rebuffing an argument from ANL that the claims are "stale." For another section of the witness statement, Harry accused the palace of mentally "conditioning" him to not stir the pot, saying, "Following the death of my mother in 1997 when I was 12 years old and her treatment at the hands of the press, I have always had an uneasy relationship with the press. However, as a member of the Institution, the policy was to ‘never complain, never explain.’ There was no alternative; I was conditioned to accept it. For the most part, I accepted the interest in performing my public functions."
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Harry's goal with his statement, it seems, is to humble, or potentially bring down, Associated Newspapers, as The Daily Beast notes. Harry said, "If the defendant, the owner of various national newspapers, including The Daily Mail which, by its own definition, is the most influential and popular newspaper in the U.K., can evade justice without there being a trial of my claims then what does that say about the industry as a whole and the consequences for our great country."
He went on, "Unfair is not a big enough word to describe the fact that Associated is trying at this early stage to prevent me from bringing my claim. If the most influential newspaper company can successfully evade justice, then in my opinion the whole country is doomed."
