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The Duke of Sussex has claimed his campaign to fight the tabloid newspapers over phone-hacking played a central role in wrecking his relationship with his family.
Harry said he wished his family had joined him in his fight following the phone-hacking scandal – a mission he has vowed will go on.
His relationship with his father, King Charles, has been strained, and his rift with his brother the Prince of Wales grew more fractious after Harry and his wife Meghan quit as working royals and moved abroad.
His explosive Netflix documentary and his memoir Spare only deepened the acrimony.
Harry alleged in a High Court claim last year that William reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers (NGN) for a “huge sum of money” over phone-hacking claims in 2020.
The duke claimed he could not bring his own claim sooner because of a “secret agreement” between the royals and NGN executives, and that Charles’ staff blocked his struggle for an apology from media mogul Rupert Murdoch.
In an interview an ITV documentary called Tabloids On Trial, due to be aired on Thursday, the duke said he wished the rest of the family had backed him up.
When asked whether his determination to fight the tabloid press destroyed his relationship with his family, Harry replied: “Yeah, that’s certainly a central piece to it.
“But, you know, it’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.”
He stressed that those in a public role should do things for the greater good but added: “I’m doing this for my reasons.”
Asked about the family’s decision not to join his fight, the duke replied: “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, yes, it’s caused, as you say, part of a rift.”
He also suggested his late mother Diana was hacked, adding: “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.”
Looking at a headline from when he dated Chelsy Davy, Harry said: “‘Harry’s girl to dump him’ – seems as though they knew something before I even did.”
The interview is Harry’s first major one since his court case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
The duke, 39, sued MGN for damages, claiming its journalists were linked to phone-hacking, gaining information by deception and use of private investigators.
In December, Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that phone-hacking became “widespread and habitual” at MGN titles in the late 1990s and awarded him £140,600 in damages.
The duke said the ruling was a “monumental victory”.
MGN said in response to the programme: “Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologise unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid compensation.”
Harry also alleges unlawful information-gathering - but not phone hacking – by journalists and private investigators for NGN, publisher of The Sun and now-defunct News Of The World.
NGN has denied unlawful activity at The Sun. A full trial is due to be held in January.
Harry is also playing a key role in a case against Associated Newspapers, where the allegations are strongly denied.
