Prince Harry Reveals Cause of Royal 'Rift'

Prince Harry says his determination to prove phone hacking allegations were a "central" part of the rift with his family. The Duke of Sussex speaks at length about his legal battle with Daily Mirror publisher Mirror Group Newspapers and a judge's finding that his and/or his associates' phones were hacked in a documentary, Tabloids On Trial, to air Thursday on ITV and streamer ITVX. "This went right up to the top … and to be able to achieve that in a trial, that's a monumental victory," he says. "From a service standpoint ... these are the things that we should be doing for the greater good," he adds. "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."

Harry has alleged the British royals had a secret deal with newspapers that prevented his bringing legal proceedings. But his case was a family affair, in a sense. Though a judge dismissed Harry's allegation that former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan hacked Princess Diana's phone in the 1990s, Harry suggests the ruling is a victory for both mother and son. Among the evidence presented was a letter in which Diana described "a nightmare time with the tabloids," including the reporting of conversations about which "nobody knew." "The tabloid press very much enjoy painting her as being paranoid. But she wasn't paranoid," Harry says. "She was absolutely right of what was happening to her, and she's not around today to find out the truth."

Like his mother, Harry watched as intimate details of his private life were exposed by the press. Harry brings up an old headline referenced during the trial, the Daily Mirror's "Harry's Girl to Dump Him," per Variety. "Seems as though they knew something before I even did," he says. It causes "paranoia, fear, worry, concern, distrust in the people around you ... but then when you're vindicated it proves that you weren't being paranoid." Ultimately, "what happens in my private life between myself and [my] then girlfriend is exactly that, between us," he adds. It "has absolutely no public interest whatsoever." The Duke of Sussex continues to pursue cases against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers and Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers. (More Prince Harry stories.)