By Victoria Ward
Prince Harry has insisted that his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, was fully supportive of his fight against the tabloid press and was “very much up there” urging him to see it through.
The Duke of Sussex, 39, told a new ITV documentary, Tabloids on Trial, that he had often spoken to the late Queen about his crusade against the media.
“We had many conversations before she passed and this is very much something that she supported,” he said.
The late Queen with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in 2018. Credit: AP
“She knew how much this meant to me and she’s very much up there saying ‘see this through to the end.’”
Harry also revealed that he did not feel able to bring his wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, back to the United Kingdom from their base in the United States because he feared a knife or acid attack.
“All it takes is for one lone actor who reads this stuff to act on what they’ve read,” he said.
“And whether it’s a knife or acid, these are things that are genuine concerns for me. It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex are now based in the US.Credit: AP
Harry’s revelation about his conversations with his grandmother suggests that they were in regular contact during her final years, despite his move abroad and the family rift triggered as they thrashed out the terms of his exit.
Emails disclosed to the High Court last year revealed that in 2018, the late Queen approved a decision to threaten News Group Newspapers (NGN) with legal action, apparently frustrated with the publisher’s lack of response to hacking claims.
But Harry has also alleged in court documents that his grandmother knew about a so-called “secret agreement” between Buckingham Palace and the publisher of The Sun under which the royals agreed not to sue.
The allegation was strongly denied by all sides and rejected as “implausible” by a judge.
David Sherborne, Harry’s barrister, told the High Court earlier this year that he might have to settle before the case gets to trial due to the “impossible” legal costs.
However, Harry told ITV that he was determined to see it through to the end, insisting that he was the only person who could do so.
“I don’t think there’s anybody else in the world that is better suited to be able to see this than myself,” he said. “I’m trying to get justice for everybody.”
He added: “If I can get to trial, we’re talking over a decade’s worth of evidence that has never been heard. That’s the goal.
“That evidence needs to come to the surface and after that, the police can make their mind up because the public and this country deserve better.”
However, the Duke admitted that it was a “risk” and that it had been a “hard decision” due to the negative attention it had generated.
The Duke also said “it would be nice” if the royals had joined forces to take on the media together.
The Telegraph UK