Prince Harry and Meghan release unseen Africa footage as legal fight heats up

Prince Harry and Meghan are continuing to treat the world to unseen snippets from their South Africa tour – even as it’s revealed the duke has ramped up his legal fight in the UK.

The couple have made headlines over the last few weeks with a series of very heartwarming and moving moments in South Africa and Malawi, as they met families and charities, retraced Princess Diana’s steps and even gave baby Archie his first public royal engagement debut.

To finish their tour on a high, they have now released a montage of videos and photos showing their top moments from the tour, with baby Archie featuring prominently throughout. Set to “a wonderful song by The Soweto Gospel Choir, a favourite of The Duke and Duchess”, the video shows each of them beaming, laughing and even dancing throughout.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3M37rxF6nG/

However, away from the spotlight Harry has also been firing up a legal fight against a series of British tabloid newspapers, over their treatment of his wife Meghan and himself over the last year. And now, just days after he released a blistering statement drawing comparisons to his mother Princess Diana’s treatment in the media before her death, he’s taken it up a notch.

According to multiple reports, Harry has launched legal proceedings against the owners of The Sun and The Daily Mirror over alleged phone-hacking. Buckingham Palace reportedly stated that the claims had been filed at the High Court “regarding the illegal interception of voicemail messages”.

A spokeswoman for News Group Newspapers (NGN) – the publishers of The Sun and the now-defunct News of The World – told the BBC: “We confirm that a claim has been issued by the Duke of Sussex.” It’s claimed the allegations predate 2010, so may be linked to the highly publicised phone-hacking scandal in the early 2000s that eventually shut down the News of The World. That, however, is yet to be confirmed.

The phone-hacking scandal saw multiple journalists arrested over claims they’d hacked into celebrities’ private voicemail messages – before using the information to write stories. Princes William and Harry, as well as the Duchess of Cambridge, were all named among the victims in the 2011 trial.

That comes after his wife Meghan launched a lawsuit against the Mail on Sunday after “the intrusive and unlawful publication” of a private letter, written by the Duchess of Sussex herself. But it was Harry’s scathing statement aimed at the entire British tabloid press that has sparked shock around the world.

“Unfortunately, my wife has become one of the latest victims of a British tabloid press that wages campaigns against individuals with no thought to the consequences – a ruthless campaign that has escalated over the past year, throughout her pregnancy and while raising our newborn son,” Harry said in an official and lengthy statement.

“There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious, and though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been. Because in today’s digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day’s coverage is no longer tomorrow’s chip-paper.”

The duke said he’s been unable to comment on the false reports until now, with the process of taking legal action lasting several months, but he’s finally spoken out after seeing a stream of positive coverage from the same publications over the last week as the couple toured South Africa – which he described as “double standards”.

https://www.instagram.com/p/B3FQkn6lOlO/

“The positive coverage of the past week from these same publications exposes the double standards of this specific press pack that has vilified her almost daily for the past nine months; they have been able to create lie after lie at her expense simply because she has not been visible while on maternity leave,” he wrote. “She is the same woman she was a year ago on our wedding day, just as she is the same woman you’ve seen on this Africa tour.

“For these select media this is a game, and one that we have been unwilling to play from the start. I have been a silent witness to her private suffering for too long. To stand back and do nothing would be contrary to everything we believe in.”

Harry went on to address the letter in question, claiming several paragraphs were left out, while the contents “were published unlawfully in an intentionally destructive manner to manipulate you, the reader”. Describing the reports as “bullying”, Harry admitted if left to develop, it can destroy lives.

“Though this action may not be the safe one, it is the right one,” he concluded, before referring to his mother in a moving final word, adding: “Because my deepest fear is history repeating itself. I’ve seen what happens when someone I love is commoditised to the point that they are no longer treated or seen as a real person. I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces. We thank you, the public, for your continued support. It is hugely appreciated. Although it may not seem like it, we really need it.”