Prince Harry Reveals Lawsuits Caused a 'Rift' Between Him and His Family: 'Certainly a Central Piece'

Prince Harry revealed one of the reasons he isn't on good terms with his family is because he filed lawsuits against News Group Newspapers and Associated Newspapers in the past few years.

“That’s certainly a central piece to it,” the prince, 39, said in the new documentary Tabloids on Trial, which is set to air in the U.K. on ITV (and streamer ITVX) on July 25. “But, you know, that’s a hard question to answer because anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press….I’ve made it very clear that this is something that needs to be done. It would be nice if we, you know, did it as a family. I believe that, again, from a service standpoint and when you are in a public role, that these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good. But, you know, I’m doing this for my reasons.”

“I think everything that’s played out has shown people what the truth of the matter is. For me, the mission continues, but it has, it has, yes. It’s caused, yeah, as you say, part of a rift," he continued.

As OK! previously reported, Harry, who left the royal fold in 2020, spoke about a judge ruled "extensive" phone hacking had taken place in relation to him. He was later awarded $180,000 after the incidents.

“To go in there and come out and have the judge rule in our favor was obviously huge,” he said of the aftermath. “But for him to go as far as he did with regard to, you know, this wasn’t just the individual people. This went right up to the top…this was lawyers, this was high executives. And to be able to achieve that in a trial that’s a monumental victory."

Harry has been tabloid fodder over the years, especially when he dated Chelsy Davy. One of the headlines, which was dissected during the trial, read: "Harry's Girl to Dump Him."

“I think there’s a lot of I guess, paranoia, fear, worry, concern, distrust in the people around you, clearly a headline like that has absolutely no public interest whatsoever,” Harry noted of being in the spotlight. “There’s a big difference between what interests the public and what is public interest, so what happens in my private life between myself and [my] then girlfriend is exactly that, between us.”

Never miss a story — sign up for the OK! newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what OK! has to offer. It’s gossip too good to wait for!

“I think paranoia is a very interesting word because yes, then it could be paranoia, but then when you’re vindicated it proves that you weren’t being paranoid. You know, same with my mother," he added, referring to his mother, Princess Diana, who died in 1997. “You know, there is evidence to suggest that she was being hacked in the mid-nineties, probably one of the first people to be hacked and yet still today, the press, the tabloid press very much enjoy painting her as being paranoid. But she wasn’t paranoid, she was absolutely right of what was happening to her. And she’s not around today to find out the truth.”