How Harry called out press over treatment of Meghan when they were first dating

The Duchess of Sussex’s difficult experience with the press stretches back a decade to when news first broke she was dating the Duke of Sussex.

Harry, giving evidence on the verge of tears at the High Court in his legal battle against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), told how the publisher of the Daily Mail “made my wife’s life an absolute misery”.

Just months after the late Queen’s grandson fell for American actress Meghan Markle, after they met on a blind date in 2016, Harry attacked the media in general over its “abuse and harassment” of his then-girlfriend.

Kensington Palace warned on his behalf: “This is not a game – it is her life.”

In a lengthy and strongly-worded statement, Harry’s then-communications secretary, Jason Knauf, outlined the difficulties Meghan had experienced since news of their relationship became public.

He said Suits star Meghan had experienced “the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments”.

Mr Knauf said: “The past week has seen a line crossed. His girlfriend, Meghan Markle, has been subject to a wave of abuse and harassment.”

Harry, who, along with Meghan quit as a senior working royal in 2020, grew up fully aware of the impact of overwhelming media intrusion on the daily life of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

He was only 12 when the princess was killed in a crash after her car, driven at speed by a drunk chauffeur, was chased through the streets of Paris by the paparazzi.

Harry’s dislike of the media seemingly intensified following the birth of his first child, Prince Archie, as he sought to protect his family.

In October 2019, the Sussexes overshadowed the end of their official tour to South Africa by each bringing separate legal actions against parts of the press, with Meghan suing the Mail On Sunday over breach of privacy when it published a private letter between her and her estranged father, Thomas Markle. She went on to win the case in 2021.

Harry filed his own proceedings at the High Court against News Group Newspapers, which owns The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, and Mirror Group Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mirror.

Along with the legal action, Harry released a scathing attack on the tabloid press, in which he heavily criticised certain sections of the media for conducting what he called a “ruthless campaign” against his wife.

“I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” he said.

In the ITV television documentary following the tour, Harry said he was determined to protect his family.

Meghan admitted to feeling vulnerable, and spoke of the pressures of royal life amid intense tabloid interest.

The duchess, who rose to fame in the TV legal drama Suits, was already skilled at red carpet appearances, interviews and promoting herself in the press.

Harry and Meghan celebrated their engagement with a press photocall and television interview, and their royal wedding was a high-profile affair, complete with a carriage ride through the streets of Windsor.

But the duchess later revealed how she underestimated the tabloids’ interest in her after she began dating Harry.

“When I first met my now-husband my friends were really happy because I was so happy, but my British friends said to me, ‘I’m sure he’s great but you shouldn’t do it because the British tabloids will destroy your life’,” she said.

She added: “I think I really tried to adopt this British sensibility of a stiff upper lip.

“I tried, I really tried, but I think what that does internally is probably really damaging, and the biggest thing that I know is that I never thought this would be easy but I thought it would be fair, and that is the part that is hard to reconcile, but (I) just take each day as it comes.”

The Sussexes dropped their Megxit bombshell at the start of 2020, saying they intended to step back as senior royals for a dual role earning their own money and supporting Queen Elizabeth II.

The royal crisis ended with them quitting the monarchy completely and having to drop the use of their HRH styles.

In the aftermath, Harry spoke of how he wanted his family to have a “more peaceful” life away from the royal family.

In an emotional speech at a Sentebale dinner, Harry described the media as a “powerful force”.

“You’ve looked out for me for so long, but the media is a powerful force, and my hope is one day our collective support for each other can be more powerful, because this is so much bigger than just us,” he said.

The couple went on to criticise Britain’s royal correspondents and reveal they would no longer participate in the “royal rota” system which has been used by Buckingham Palace for decades.

They vowed to end co-operation with four British tabloid newspapers: the Daily Mail, Daily Express, the Daily Mirror and The Sun; along with their Sunday and online versions.

A letter sent on Harry and Meghan’s behalf to the publications’ editors hit out at reporting it claimed was “distorted, false, and invasive beyond reason”.

In the years since the Sussexes moved to the US and started a new life away from what Harry calls the “institution”, the couple took charge of their own story, with controversial outputs through a televised Oprah Winfrey interview, their Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir, Spare.

There were accusations of racism in relation to Archie’s skin tone before he was born – with the remarks in the end alleged to have come from two senior royals – and claims Kensington Palace lied to protect the now-Prince of Wales over reports he allegedly bullied Harry out of the royal family.

The duke also accused William of physically attacking him and throwing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan, teasing him about his panic attacks, and, along with the now-Princess of Wales, encouraging him to wear a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party.

In June 2023, Harry became the first senior royal in more than two decades to appear personally in court proceedings, as he faced nearly eight hours of questioning in his claim against MGN.

Mr Justice Fancourt ruled in December that year that phone hacking became “widespread and habitual” at MGN titles in the late 1990s, and that it hacked Harry’s phone “to a modest extent”.

He awarded the duke £140,600 in damages after finding 15 articles about Harry were the product of unlawful information gathering.

Then, in January last year, Harry settled his claim against NGN on what would have been the second day of the trial of the legal action, with the publisher apologising to the duke and agreeing to pay substantial damages.

In a statement following the settlement, the former Labour deputy leader, Lord Tom Watson, who was also suing NGN, said: “I once said that the big beasts of the tabloid jungle have no predators. I was wrong, they have Prince Harry.”

Harry, Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley are all bringing legal action against ANL over allegations of unlawful information gathering.

ANL has strongly denied wrongdoing and is defending the claims.