Prince Harry has been in the UK this week making several public appearances, but his visit has not been without drama as a royal butler warns of ‘irreversible’ damage to family ties
Harry lost his legal battle against Associated Newspapers Ltd(Image: WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Prince Harry has made an rare visit to the UK, and his arrival has been come with considerable controversy.
The prince has been staying at an undisclosed address after Buckingham Palace confirmed he is not staying at the royal residence as he undertakes multiple public engagements throughout the UK this week.
On Tuesday, the Duke of Sussex lost his High Court privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail. He, alongside several high-profile individuals including Elizabeth Hurley, brought the legal action against Associated Newspapers.
They claimed unlawful tactics had been employed to collect information for articles, allegations which had always been strongly rejected by Associated Newspapers.
Mr Justice Nicklin informed the group the accusations were so grave they had to demonstrate the information had been acquired unlawfully and they required more compelling evidence.
The former royal butler doesn’t think the palace will be happy(Image: WIktor Szymanowicz/NurPhoto/Shutterstock)
Mr Justice Nicklin said: “I accept that he found the article intrusive and was genuinely concerned by how journalists appeared to know private information concerning his relationships. But suspicion, even understandable suspicion, is not proof.”
Prince Harry, together with the other claimants in the case, released a statement following the judgment. In a joint statement with Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the Duke of Sussex said: “It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected.”
The pair said: “We came to court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither.
“This judgment represents a complete reversal of the position which previous judges have taken in relation to the hacking claims successfully brought against both News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers, who were represented by, at the time, the judge who made this decision.
“Generic findings about various private investigators that were held by the courts in these parallel claims to have carried out unlawful activity at the very same time in relation to similar stories and well-known individuals have been wholly ignored.
The former butler thinks William will be ‘furious'(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
“The fact that this court has chosen to dismiss them represents an inconsistency which is hard to understand or reconcile with common sense, or the evidence heard in the courtroom itself.
“It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected. However, the lengths to which the court has gone to exonerate the Mail is as shocking as it is totally unwarranted.
“When the court says there is not sufficient evidence of wrongdoing, despite the documents showing otherwise, then one does wonder how justice was ever going to be achieved.
“One need not look past when a private investigator the Mail used actually admitted on tape to having unlawfully blagged Baroness Lawrence, or when a journalist recorded the name of the private investigators she used to find out about highly sensitive medical information, that even the Mail was too worried to publish, or when another private investigator emailed one of the journalists with the actual British Airways seat number and ticketing details for a young girl simply visiting her boyfriend, in return for payment.”
Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle(Image: Pool, Getty Images)
Since leaving his royal role the Prince has been outspoken about his views and feelings towards the royals, as shown in a televised Oprah Winfrey interview and his own Netflix documentary series.
Consequently, for many people there is a sense of trust that has been damaged, as personal family matters have been made public. The question on everyone’s lips is whether the prince will be meeting his father, the king.
Royal commentator Hilary Fordwich says she believes Prince Harry owes the remainder of the royal family an apology. She suggested any contact between Harry and the King would be carefully arranged to safeguard the monarchy’s interests.
Speaking to OLBG, former royal butler Grant Harrold has offered his view on what the developments over recent days signify for Harry’s future relationship with his family. Discussing the potential long-term consequences, the butler said: “Prince Harry has basically aired his dirty laundry in public – again. This has turned it from a private issue into a public one.
“This will have a bigger impact than just a bit of upset for this visit. The Palace will not be happy at all. It’s going to make things even more difficult for Harry in the longer term. And I think this could be irreversible.”
He continued that his conduct demonstrates to the royals and their advisers that “Harry still isn’t willing to play by the rules”. Harrold elaborated: “He’s still happy to put out statements criticising them. I think William will be furious, it’s just more drama that I believe he just wants to leave in the past.”
Yet Harry appears unwilling to move on from the past as he places himself back in the spotlight, heading back to Britain and giving an address at the Invictus Games. The speech itself was made just moments after news emerged of his legal battle on 7 July.
He was defeated in his unlawful information-gathering lawsuit against the Daily Mail’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), in proceedings that he had been pursuing for years. It has been reported that all 14 of Prince Harry’s claims regarding multiple articles published about him have been rejected.
This has left Harry facing a substantial financial burden, along with the other claimants in the case, comprising Sir Elton John’s husband David Furnish, actor Elizabeth Hurley and former Liberal Democrat minister Sir Simon Hughes.