Prince Harry launches fresh legal action

Prince Harry has started more legal proceedings against the UK press, just three days after he blasted the media in a scathing statement.

Prince Harry has started more legal proceedings, this time against the publishers of The Sun and The Daily Mirror newspapers in the UK.

A spokeswoman for Prince Harry said in a statement, “Claims have been filed on behalf of The Duke of Sussex at the High Court regarding the illegal interception of voicemail messages”.

News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, confirmed a claim had been issued. According to The Sun, it’s understood the legal proceedings relate to claims in the 2000s, long before Prince Harry met his now wife, Meghan Markle.

Prince Harry and Meghan in the Bo Kaap district of Cape Town during the royal tour of South Africa on September 24, 2019. Picture: Pool/Samir Hussein/WireImage

Court documents also show that Harry is targeting Mirror Group Newspapers, owned by Reach PLC, with the legal action.

The fresh legal proceedings come just three days after Prince Harry released an explosive statement to announce he had initiated legal action against British tabloid The Daily Mail over its publication of a private letter by Meghan to her father, which the couple allege was published illegally and selectively edited to hide “lies” reported about her.

Harry and Meghan just wrapped up their royal tour of South Africa. Picture: Michele Spatari/AFP

RELATED: All the times the royals have taken legal action

In his furious tirade, Prince Harry personally condemned the claims that have surrounded his wife over the past nine months and admitted it had been “painful” for both of them.

“Unfortunately, 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, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” Harry wrote on the Royal Family’s official website.

Archie, meeting Desmond Tutu and his wife Leah in Cape Town. Picture: Henk Kruger/Pool via AP

“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face — as so many of you can relate to — I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been.”

Referencing press coverage of his mother Princess Diana, Harry said his “deepest fear is history repeating itself”.

Prince William signing the entrance book at Eton College in 1995 with Prince Charles, Diana, Princess of Wales and Prince Harry watching.

“There comes a point when the only thing to do is to stand up to this behaviour, because it destroys people and destroys lives. Put simply, it is bullying, which scares and silences people. We all know this isn’t acceptable, at any level. We won’t and can’t believe in a world where there is no accountability for this,” he wrote.

“Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person.

“I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces.”

Meghan looks on as Prince Harry speaks during a visit a township to learn about Youth Employment Services in Johannesburg. Picture: Chris Jackson/Getty Images

The royal couple is suing Associated Newspapers — the parent company of Mail on Sunday — over the misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the UK’s Data Protection Act 2018.

The heartfelt and emotional letter, which was provided to Mail on Sunday by its recipient, Meghan’s father Thomas Markle Senior, was sent in August last year, three months after the royal wedding.

Thomas Markle has given several tell-all interviews since Meghan and Harry's wedding.

In the statement, Harry explained “this particular legal action hinges on one incident in a long and disturbing pattern of behaviour by British tabloid media”.

“The contents of a private letter were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader, and further the divisive agenda of the media group in question,” he said.

Mail on Sunday issued its own statement in response, denying the Duke’s claims.

“The Mail on Sunday stands by the story it published and will be defending this case vigorously. Specifically, we categorically deny that the Duchess’s letter was edited in any way that changed its meaning,” a spokesperson said.

The legal proceedings are being privately funded by Harry and Meghan and any potential proceeds from awarded damages will be donated to an anti-bullying charity.

Prince Harry and Meghan hold Archie as they meet with Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Picture: Henk Kruger / PlL / AFP

It’s the second time Harry has taken the extraordinary step of personally condemning the treatment of Meghan by the press.

The first came in late 2016, just nine days after news broke of his relationship with the then-Suits actress.

In a statement released at the time by Kensington Palace, Harry wrote that the American star had faced “the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments”.

News Group Newspapers is owned by News Corp, the publishers of news.com.au.