The Royal Family has been constantly in the spotlight since Prince Harry and Meghan Markle stepped back from their royal duties. The couple has constantly accused the Royal Family of ill-treatment and brought forward many shocking revelations via different media interactions. Recently, with Harry’s memoir ‘Spare’ and the Netflix docuseries ‘Harry & Meghan’, the two created a lot of stir. In both the content pieces, the two have accused the family on various accounts.
In March 2023, Prince Harry arrived in Britain for a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). The media company is aiming to dismiss the case altogether. Along with Harry, Elton John, and other complainants have accused it of unlawful gathering of information and running stories. During the testimony, Prince Harry levied various allegations against the media organization and accused the Royal Family of keeping him in the dark.
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Prince Harry Accuses The ‘Institution’ Of Keeping Him In Dark About The Phone Hacking Case
On March 28th, 2023, Prince Harry appeared in the Royal Court of London to testify about the allegations against ANL. In the written testimony, the Duke of Sussex confessed that he was not aware of the newspapers breaching his privacy. He alleged that the organization, through its various newspapers including The Mail, has tapped landlines, and hacked voicemails of his former girlfriend, Chelsy Davy.
In his statement, the Duke said, “Through investigating my claim, I have been made aware of extensive evidence of wrongdoing and subsequent cover-ups at Associated which demonstrates that not only has it been acting outside the law, but it believes it is above it. I am determined to hold you Associated accountable, for everyone’s sake.”
The Mail On Sunday venture of Associated Newspapers published an article about Harry and Chelsy’s romantic getaways. Prince Harry alleged that the article “terrified” Davy.
In his statement, he wrote, “This intrusion was terrifying for Chelsy; it made her feel like she was being hunted and the press had caught her, and it was terrifying for me, too, because there was nothing I could do to stop it and now she was in my world.”
Prince Harry also alleged the media surrounding the Royal Family kept him in the dark to avoid him presenting himself in the witness box. He said, referring to the News of the World case, “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.”
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The Ex-Royal Slammed The Royal Media In Netflix’s Docuseries
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry kept themselves relevant in the news through various media platforms. The first of the many ventures with Netflix was the two-part docuseries ‘Harry & Meghan’. The couple revealed some intimate details of their relationship and the equations with the Royal Family. Among many revelations, Harry exposed the ‘Royal Rota’ of the family.
The Sun, Daily Mail, Evening Standard, and The Telegraph are among the news outlets that come under the purview of the ‘Royal Rota’. Harry said, “That press pack of royal correspondents [the Royal Rota] is essentially just an extended PR arm of the royal family. So there’s been an agreement that’s been there for over 30 years. If you’re part of the Royal Rota, you have priority over the story over everybody else.”
Taking a dig at the media system, Prince Harry said, “So all royal news goes through the filter of all the newspapers within the Royal Rota, most of which, apart from the Telegraph, happen to be tabloids. It all comes down to control. It’s like, ‘This family is ours to exploit. Their trauma is our story and our narrative to control.’ “
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