Why is Prince Harry taking on the press?
“I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces”. This week Prince Harry released a strongly-worded statement attacking the way the press treats his wife Meghan. At the same time the couple announced they were taking legal action against the Mail on Sunday for publishing a private letter Meghan sent her father. And today we found out Harry is also suing the Sun and Mirror over alleged phone-hacking.
Harry’s distrust of the press runs deep: as a child he witnessed his mother Princess Diana’s hounding by the media. Michael Cole was a BBC royal correspondent in the 1980s, and then became a spokesperson for Mohamed Al Fayad, the father of Diana’s boyfriend Dodi. He remembers the relationship between the press and the royal family in Diana’s day. And the BBC’s current royal correspondent Jonny Dymond assesses how Harry’s childhood has shaped his relationship with the press today.
Presenter: Matthew Price Producers: Harriet Noble and Seren Jones Mixed by Nicolas Raufast Editor: John Shields