The Biggest Revelations From Prince Harry’s Victorious Legal Battle Against British Tabloids

He Had No Idea About the Biological Dad DNA Rumors

On his first day in court, Harry said: “Numerous newspapers had reported a rumour that my biological father was James Hewitt, a man my mother had a relationship with after I was born. At the time of this article and others similar to it, I wasn’t actually aware that my mother hadn’t met Major Hewitt until after I was born. At the time, when I was 18 years old and had lost my mother just six years earlier, stories such as this felt very damaging and very real to me.”

Private Details From His Relationship with Chelsy Davy Became Public

We’ve also learned quite a bit about Harry’s relationship with his on-again, off-again ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy. In fact, he said private details about their relationship would be in tabloids the next day, and they couldn’t figure out how. They “never understand how private elements of our life together were finding their way into the tabloids.”
 

He Claims the Media Attention from MGN Ruined Relationship With Chelsy Davy

Due to the alleged phone-hacking and heightened media attention from MGN, Harry claims his relationship with Davy ended, specifically that Davy couldn’t handle the alleged hacking.

This Incident Made Him Paranoid About Romantic Relationships

During the first day of court, Harry claimed that this entire debacle has made him paranoid, saying, “Whenever I got into a relationship, they were very keen to report the details but would then, very quickly, seek to try and break it up by putting as much strain on it and creating as much distrust as humanly possible.”

He added, “This twisted objective is still pursued to this day even though I’m now married.”

He Claimed the Journalists Have Inadvertently Caused Death

While being cross-examined, Harry says the “editors and journalists” in this case cause “a lot of pain and in some cases inadvertently death.” As you can imagine, this raised eyebrows. 

Queen Elizabeth Sent an Aid to Watch Harry

During a gap year, Harry went to Australia, and unbeknownst to him, he claims Queen Elizabeth II sent an aid to watch him. He said “the Queen had asked one of her assistant private secretaries to fly out to Noosa and take a house down the road from where I was staying, without me knowing.”

He added, “She was concerned about the extent of the coverage of my trip and wanted someone I knew to be nearby, in case I needed support.”

His Voicemails Gave Him the First Clue That Something Was Amiss

During the trial, he said he noticed how his voicemail was quite wonky: meaning they would disappear within seconds and friends would wonder why he never responded. He said, “I wouldn’t go into my voicemail unless the little envelope symbol flashed up on my phone signalling to me that I had a new message. Sometimes this symbol would vanish before I had a chance to listen to the voicemail. I don’t know how long after they’d been listened to that the symbol vanished, presumably straight away.

He Was Mocked By Classmates

In his statement, he said the tabloids that talked about his alleged ailments ostracized him from his classmates, saying, “I was often singled out for being a ‘sick note’ or a ‘pussy’ because articles like this made routine injuries seem like such a big deal.”

Harry Claims the Press is to Blame for Him Leaving the UK

In the obtained documents, Harry said: “In large part… due to the constant intrusion, inciting of hatred and harassment by the tabloid press into every aspect of our private lives, which had a devastating impact on our mental health and wellbeing. We were also very concerned for the security and safety of our son.”

He Hid in Car Trunks to Escape the Press

One tidbit many seem to be glossing over is that Harry said in his statement how he’d hide in car trunks to avoid the press that trespassed onto the family’s grounds. 

The Tabloids Shaped His Relationships With Drugs

Harry revealed that the tabloids’ choice to paint him as the “playboy prince” or the “thicko” and the “irresponsible drug taker,” pushed him fulfill their prophecy.

“I thought that, if they are printing this rubbish about me and people were believing it, I may as well do the crime,” he said, adding that the tabloids would “constantly try and coax me, a damaged young man, into doing something stupid that would make a good story and sell lots of newspapers.”

He Worried About Friends Becoming Targets

When the reports of him taking drugs in 2002 came out, he was petrified his friends would become targets as well. He said in his statement, “Not only did I have the stress and worry about who I could trust with any personal details about myself, but I also knew I had to worry about anyone that I was close to becoming a target for the defendant.”

Piers Morgan’s Actions Towards Diana Make Harry ‘Physically Sick’

Everyone knows the feud between Piers Morgan and Harry, but Harry revealed the thought of Morgan allegedly hacking into Diana’s phone while she was talking to her friend Michael Barrymore. “The thought of Piers Morgan and his band of journalists earwigging into my mother’s private and sensitive messages … makes me feel physically sick and even more determined to hold those responsible, including Mr Morgan, accountable for their vile and entirely unjustified behaviour,” he said.

He Doesn’t Remember Many of the Tabloids

The lawyer for Mirror Group attorney Andrew Green took Harry through the articles one by one, asking if he remembered them and Harry couldn’t remember quite a bit.