After the accusations on Netflix and in his autobiography, Prince Harry brings his evidence to the court. The Duke of Sussex is among the personalities to sue News Group Newspapers (NGN), the media company owned by Rupert Murdoch. Two of its tabloids, The Sun and News of the World, are accused of tapping several celebrities to feed their pages. News of the World went out of business in 2011, after a first scandal of telephone tapping.
Small arrangements and big fortunes
According to Prince Harry's lawyers, the heir to the throne himself reached an agreement with NGN in 2020. As relayed by theGuardian, the representatives of the Duke of Sussex have included in their indictment the contract between the media company and Prince William, and claim that he received "a very large sum of money" to avoid a trial.
Prince Harry also adds that an agreement existed between Rupert Murdoch's company and Buckingham Palace before 2012 to avoid or delay prosecution against the tabloids, in exchange for a public apology. In the line of fire: the fear, on the part of the crown, of reliving the scandal of the Tampon-Gate. A private conversation between Charles and Camilla, during which he explained that he wanted to be in the place of the periodic protection of the future queen consort to be with her all the time while he was still married to Lady Diana, had been broadcast by the press.
From "Tampon-Gate" to Fox News
"The reason was to avoid a situation where a member of the royal family could find themselves in the witness box and have to recall the specific details of private and highly sensitive voicemails that had been intercepted by Clive Goodman (royal reporter at the News of the World). The institution was very nervous about this and wanted at all costs to avoid the same kind of damage to their reputation as in 1993, when the Sun and other tabloids illegally obtained and published an intimate phone conversation between my father and mother-in-law dating back to 1989, when he was still married to my mother," Prince Harry said.
Meghan Markle's husband says he filed a complaint because he could not get an apology when he asked Rupert Murdoch's company in 2017.
News Group Newspapers denies having made a secret deal with anyone. While the company has admitted to the wiretaps conducted by the News of the World, it denies that the Sun did the same. In addition, Rupert Murdoch has just paid more than $ 700 million in the defamation case on the coverage of the 2020 presidential election, won by Donald Trump, brought against the American channel Fox News, which he also owns. His lawyers believe that Prince Harry has taken too long to file a complaint and ask that the case be closed.
Kensington Palace, which represents Prince William, declined to comment, as did Buckingham Palace, the home of King Charles, whose coronation is due to take place in two weeks.
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