Queen Elizabeth supported Prince Harry's bid for an apology from media mogul Rupert Murdoch but he was blocked by King Charles's staff, the High Court has heard.
The Duke of Sussex is suing News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, over alleged unlawful gathering of information at its titles.
But NGN is arguing that the claim, along with one brought by actor Hugh Grant, have been brought too late and should be thrown out.
While NGN has settled hacking claims in relation to the News of the World, the publisher denies illegal activity at The Sun.
In a witness statement made public on Tuesday, Prince Harry described how in late 2017 he wanted to “push for a resolution” over phone hacking and get an apology from News Corp owner Mr Murdoch before his wedding to the Duchess of Sussex.
“I remember speaking to my brother [Prince William] and saying something along the lines of, ‘Enough of this, I want to get permission to push for a resolution to our phone hacking claims and a formal apology from Murdoch before any of his people are allowed anywhere near the wedding’, or words to that effect," he said.
But he accused Clarence House of “seemingly blocking our every move” as part of a strategy to keep the media “onside in order to smooth the way for my stepmother and father to be accepted by the British public as queen consort and king respectively”.
In his written statement, Prince Harry said he was angry about “appalling treatment” his wife had received from Murdoch-owned newspapers and was frustrated about a lack of progress on phone hacking.
“I thought, naively perhaps, that this might prove the perfect opportunity to air our grievances and force a resolution to our phone-hacking claims,” he said.
Prince Harry and Meghan Duchess of Sussex through the years - in pictures
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Doria Ragland, Prince Harry and Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, attend the Ms Foundation Women of Vision Awards in New York City. Getty -
Prince Harry and his wife Meghan attend a basketball game between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Memphis Grizzlies in Los Angeles in April. Getty -
The royal couple speak onstage at the Robert F Kennedy Human Rights Ripple of Hope Gala in New York in December 2022. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan watch as the coffin of Queen Elizabeth II is placed into the hearse following the state funeral service at Westminster Abbey in central London in September 2022. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan pay their respects at the Palace of Westminster. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and Kate, Princess of Wales, attend a service for the reception of Queen Elizabeth's coffin at Westminster Hall. AFP -
The Princess of Wales, Prince William, Prince Harry and Meghan meet members of the public outside Windsor Castle. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan leave after a service of thanksgiving for the queen. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan at the National September 11 Memorial and Museum in New York in September 2021. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan on the cover of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world edition, in September 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan are interviewed by Oprah Winfrey in March 2021. Reuters -
Prince Harry and Meghan shared this image on social media in February 2021 to announce they were expecting their second child. AFP -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Canada House, London, in January 2020. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Auwal Mosque on Heritage Day during their royal tour of South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry, Meghan and their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor in South Africa in September 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet Beyonce Knowles-Carter and Jay-Z at the European Premiere of Disney's The Lion King at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square, London, in July 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose for a photo with the New York Yankees before their baseball game against the Boston Red Sox at London Stadium in June 2019. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan pose with their newborn son Archie in St George's Hall at Windsor Castle in May 2019. Getty -
Meghan, joined by her mother Ms Ragland, shows her new son to Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip at Windsor Castle in May 2019. AP -
Prince Harry and Meghan officially open Number 7, a Feeding Birkenhead citizen’s supermarket and community cafe in Merseyside in January 2019. Getty -
Prince William, the Princess of Wales, Meghan and Prince Harry attend a Christmas Day church service at the Church of St Mary Magdalene on the Sandringham estate in December 2018. Getty -
Prince William, Prince Harry, Meghan and the Duchess of Cambridge attend a service marking the centenary of the First World War armistice at Westminster Abbey in November 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit Redwoods Tree Walk in October 2018 in Rotorua, New Zealand. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit an exhibition of Tongan handicrafts at the Fa'onelua Convention Centre in October 2018 in Nuku'alofa, Tonga. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan visit the University of the South Pacific in October 2018 in Suva, Fiji. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan address the public during a Community Event at Victoria Park in October 2018 in Dubbo, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan meet a koala during a visit to Taronga Zoo in October 2018 in Sydney, Australia. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan arrive at the University of Chichester's Engineering and Digital Technology Park during an official visit to West Sussex in October 2018. Getty -
The queen, Meghan, Prince Harry, Prince William and the Duchess of Cambridge watch the RAF 100th anniversary fly-past from the balcony of Buckingham Palace in July 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan on their wedding day in May 2018. Getty -
Prince Harry places a wedding ring on his new wife's finger. Getty -
Meghan and Prince Harry head to their evening wedding reception at Frogmore House. Getty -
Prince Harry and Meghan walk through the corridors of the Palace of Holyroodhouse on their way to a reception for young people at the Palace in February 2018 in Edinburgh, Scotland. Getty -
Prince Harry and his then-fiancee Meghan visit Nottingham for their first official public engagement together in December 2017. Getty
Prince Harry said his brother, the Prince of Wales, was “very understanding and supportive, and agreed that we needed to do it” and “suggested that I seek permission from Granny” — the late queen.
“I spoke to her shortly afterwards and said something along the lines of, ‘Are you happy for me to push this forward, do I have your permission?’ And she said: ‘Yes'."
Prince Harry said the queen’s then-director of communications Sally Osman was then “given the green light to approach senior executives at NGN on behalf of the institution, her late majesty Queen Elizabeth II, Prince William and me, to broker a resolution and an apology from Mr Murdoch”.
But he said there was “very little support” from the queen’s private secretary, or from Buckingham Palace and Clarence House, “despite my grandmother having given her consent”.
“I remember one senior palace staff member saying that there couldn’t be an apology to the queen because she didn’t have a claim,” Prince Harry said.
The duke said that in March 2018, after “continued silence” from News International, the queen allowed another note to be sent to Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corporation, and Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News UK.
In an email from Ms Osman describing the note, she said: “Her majesty has approved the wording, which essentially says there is increasing frustration at their lack of response and engagement and, while we’ve tried to settle without involving lawyers, we will need to reconsider our stance unless we receive a viable proposal.”
But Prince Harry said he was told shortly before his wedding that “nothing could be done”, by Gerrard Tyrrell, who the duke later described as “the institution’s lawyer taking direction from Clarence House”.
“Shortly before the wedding, we were informed by Gerrard Tyrrell that nothing could be done as NGN were not in a position to apologise to her majesty the queen and the rest of the royal family at that stage on account of the fact that, if they did so, they would have to admit that not only was the News of the World involved in phone hacking but also The Sun," he claimed.
"And that was something that they couldn’t afford to do until the end of the litigation because it would seriously undermine their settlement strategy across all the other claims."
Prince Harry said he understood this conversation took place between King Charles’s communications secretary and Ms Brooks.
“With hindsight, I now understand why staff at Clarence House were being so unhelpful and were seemingly blocking our every move, as they had a specific long-term strategy to keep the media, including NGN, onside in order to smooth the way for my stepmother and father to be accepted by the British public as queen consort and king respectively, when the time came," he said.
"And anything that might upset the apple cart in this regard, including the suggestion of resolution of our phone-hacking claims, was to be avoided at all costs.”
Prince Harry also said that when he did start his claims against NGN and also Mirror Group Newspapers in October 2019, he was “summoned to Buckingham Palace and specifically told to drop the legal actions because they have an ‘effect on all the family’”.
The duke described this as “a direct request, or rather demand” from King Charles, then the prince of Wales, his private secretary and the queen’s private secretary.
Saying Mr Tyrrell was a “no-go”, Prince Harry said he told his own lawyers to bring a claim against NGN, telling the queen, his father and Prince William of this while he was on tour in Africa.
