Americans Back Prince Harry Over Tabloid Lawsuit

The American public backs Prince Harry in his decision to bring legal action against the publishers of Britain's Daily Mail over allegations of historic unlawful information gathering such as phone-hacking and wiretapping, new poll data has revealed.

The prince is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publishers of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. He is backed by a number of other high-profile figures including singer Elton John and model Elizabeth Hurley. The group says stories written as far back as the 1990s were sourced using illegal actions, including the bugging of cars.

ANL has vigorously denied the allegations made against it and argued for the case to be dismissed.

Harry made a surprise trip to Britain in March to attend a round of preliminary hearings connected with the lawsuit. A judge's ruling over whether the case should be thrown out, granted a summary judgement or proceed to trial is expected in due course.

The prince's popularity in the U.S. fell dramatically in the weeks following the release of his bombshell Netflix docuseries and memoir media projects. However, exclusive polling undertaken for Newsweek by strategists Redfield & Wilton shows that the American public supports his tabloid lawsuit.

Asked "to what extent, if at all, do you support or oppose Prince Harry's decision to take legal action against the publishers of the Daily Mail for allegedly using illegal methods to obtain information about him?" 48 percent of a representative sample of 1,500 U.S. voters responded "support" or "strongly support."

By contrast, 14 percent responded that they "oppose" or "strongly oppose" the move, while 15 percent replied that they "don't know" or "don't care."

The prince is involved in multiple lawsuits with a number being related to phone-hacking or illegal media practices. In legal filings made as part of his claim against ANL, the prince's lawyers evoked the powerful memory of his late mother, Princess Diana. The legal team highlighted broken promises made after her 1997 death from injuries sustained in a car crash while being pursued by paparazzi photographers in Paris.

"As a senior member of the Royal Family at all material times, Associated's pursuit of detail as to information as to his private travel plans and publication of the same through the Unlawful Articles caused a significant security risk to the Claimant which was as grossly irresponsible as it was dangerous," the filings, seen by Newsweek, stated.

"Moreover, the Claimant regards Associated's Unlawful Acts to amount to a major betrayal given promises made by the media to improve its conduct following the tragic and untimely death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997."

In a witness statement supplied to the court, the prince made more personal revelations. These included his being "scared" that ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy would be "harassed to death" during the course of their relationship, owing to the media's focus on her.

"This intrusion was terrifying for Chelsy," Harry said in the statement, adding, "it made her feel like she was being hunted and the press had caught her and it was terrifying for me too because there was nothing I could do to stop it and now she was in my world."

"She was 'shaken' and I was really paranoid about trying to protect our privacy, as the article says. Their behavior and treatment of Chelsy [were] not normal. I was scared that Chelsy was going to run in the opposite direction or be chased and harassed to death."

Davy has not spoken personally in-depth about her relationship with Harry or her treatment at the hands of the tabloid media during that time.

In addition to ANL, Harry is suing News Group Newspapers, owner of The Sun and the now-defunct News of The World, and Reach, which owns the Daily Mirror, over similar allegations of phone-hacking and illegal information-gathering.

The prince is also in an ongoing legal dispute with the U.K. government over the decision to remove his state-funded bodyguards. This happened when he stepped down as a working member of the royal family in 2020.

Harry is due to return to Britain in May to attend the coronation of his father, King Charles III.

James Crawford-Smith is Newsweek's royal reporter based in London. You can find him on Twitter at @jrcrawfordsmith and read his stories on Newsweek's The Royals Facebook page.

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