ROYALSPrince Harry Says It's 'Still Dangerous' for Wife Meghan Markle and Their 2 Kids to Return to the U.K.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex left the British royal family over four years ago.
Meghan Markle hasn't spent time in the U.K. since 2022, and Prince Harry revealed why the Duchess of Sussex and their two kids, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, won't travel with him to the region in the near future.
Prince Harry is battling the British tabloid industry.
"There’s no one better place to see this thing through than myself,” Harry said in the ITV documentary Tabloids on Trial while discussing his legal battle against the British press. “It’s one of the reasons why I won’t bring my wife back to this country.”
“We had many conversations before she passed. This is very much something she supported. She knew how much this meant to me,” the veteran told Rebecca Barry when she asked if Queen Elizabeth would approve of his fight. “She’s very much up there saying, ‘See this through to the end,’ without question.”
Meghan Markle hasn't spent time in the U.K. since 2022.
Harry and other British celebrities accused News Group Newspapers and the Mirror Group Newspapers of phone hacking and other unethical journalistic practices. In 2023, the High Court ruled in Harry's favor regarding his lawsuit against the Mirror Group, but his case against NGN awaits trial.
“I’m trying to get justice for everybody,” Harry told Barry. “This is a David versus Goliath situation — the Davids are the claimants, and the Goliath is this vast media enterprise.”
Meghan Markle often stays in California when Prince Harry visits the U.K.
When the court ruled that the Mirror Group was guilty of "extensive" wiretapping, Harry celebrated the win.
“I did feel vindicated. Phone hacking has been going on for a long time," the father-of-two admitted. "There’s a huge amount that has come to light now that people and the British public, specifically, had no idea about."
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry left the royal fold in 2020.
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Since leaving the royal fold, Harry has been honest about the challenges of growing up in the public eye.
“It felt like harassment,” he said of being targeted by paparazzi. “It felt horrible then. It feels horrible now.”
The veteran is committed to his fight against MGN and NGN, but the royal family typically avoids publicly attacking media conglomerates.
“It is clear now to everybody that the risk of taking on the press and the risk of such retaliation from them of taking these claims forward. It’s clearly not in [the royal family's] interest to do that," the famous redhead admitted. "It’s clear from the last four years with my wife, my children … They pushed me too far, [and] it got to a point where you’re d-------- if you do, and you’re d------ if you don’t."
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According to Harry, it “would be nice” if the Windsors supported him, but he is pursuing his case for “my reasons.”
“Anything I say about my family results in a torrent of abuse from the press," he added. "I’ve made it clear that this is something that needs to be done."
NGN continues to deny Harry's accusations, but MGN accepted the court's decision.
“We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which gives our business further clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago and for which we have apologized,'" a spokesperson for MGN said in a statement.
