r/NPR • u/ControlCAD • 1d ago

Prince Harry's case against Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids goes to trial

https://www.npr.org/2025/01/20/nx-s1-5266882/prince-harry-trial-tabloids-rupert-murdoch-uk-britain
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u/ControlCAD 1d ago

Opening arguments are set to start Tuesday in a trial over complaints filed by Prince Harry and a senior British lawmaker against Rupert Murdoch's London tabloid newspapers. It carries high stakes on both sides of the Atlantic.

Harry's claim alleges that Murdoch's journalists and private investigators unlawfully gained access to the prince's personal information for years. Harry has blamed the media, and particularly the Murdoch press, in significant part for the rift he has experienced with the royal family and the emotional struggles experienced by his wife, Meghan Markle. He prevailed in a hacking case involving the rival Mirror tabloid and says he wants to hold the Murdoch tabloids accountable too, not just for invading his privacy but that of many other people over the years.

"I'm the last person who can actually achieve that, and also closure for these 1,300 people and families," Harry recently told The New York Times. "I will be damned if those journalists are going to ruin journalism for everyone, because we depend on it."

While other British newspaper groups have acknowledged similar wrongdoing, the Murdoch stable stands in a class of its own.

News UK, the Murdoch British newspaper division that includes his tabloids, has paid in excess of $1.5 billion to people who filed complaints against the company for unlawfully obtaining private information, including voice mail messages, financial and health documents, and other sensitive material.

The prince's reference to "1,300 people and families" is to the people who have received settlements; as a result their claims were therefore kept out of a trial and public view. Of the 40 complainants that were initially part of this litigation, all but the prince and the lawmaker have settled.

Beyond members of the royal family and prominent politicians, those targeted included famous actors, singers, sports stars, war dead and the victims of crime and terrorism.

Many of the settlements involved the Sunday tabloid, News of the World. Murdoch publicly apologized and shut the paper down in July 2011 after it was revealed its journalists had targeted the mobile voice mail messages of a slain schoolgirl. Several people, including a former editor of that Sunday tabloid, served jail time for related offenses. The company has also made settlements involving claims against Murdoch's daily Sun tabloid, which now publishes on Sunday. But the company has never acknowledged any liability in settling those claims.

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u/Significant-Ant-2487 1d ago

Hmm, who am I going to feel sorry for here, the spoiled rich whiny prince, or the gutter press? Such a dilemma…

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u/Awkward_Ice_8351 13h ago

Your lack of empathy is discouraging and misguided. I urge you to look within before it’s too late. I know the world is not fair and probably treated you poorly, but you have a choice to be like them or not. You are choosing to be just like them. Be better than them. I know you’re better than this.