Prince Harry Released Daily Mail Lawsuit Against Royal Aides’ Advice?

It’s been a whirlwind week for the Sussexes. Just as Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and baby Archie were wrapping up a 10-day tour of Africa, Harry opted to drop a bombshell lawsuit on the Daily Mail. 

Harry accused the British tabloid press with, among other things, dehumanizing his wife Meghan, much in the way they did his mother Princess Diana. In his letter, he said: “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. 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.”

He continued; “It is for this reason we are taking legal action, a process that has been many months in the making. 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.”

Royal aides were not happy with the timing, believing that the release of the letter amid the tour wrap up would distract the press from the tour, which had given the pair a positive PR boost, The Times reports. 

Making matters touchier, Harry refused to consult his aides on the letter, and released it on his own. He also did it without consulting the Queen or his brother Prince William, The Times reports. 

Royal biographer, Penny Juror told Newsweek: “I can’t think the queen would approve of that statement. I don’t think the Prince of Wales would ever put a statement out like that, and, my goodness, over the years he’s had cause when the media have been attacking him or Camilla. I don’t think even his brother would have advised putting out a statement like that.”