Prince Harry alleges revenge reporting by The Sun over a Diddy lawsuit story
Prince Harry accuses The Sun of targeting him with false articles linked to a lawsuit involving Sean Combs.
Prince Harry has accused The Sun newspaper of targeting him out of spite, following the publication of a front-page story linking him to a high-profile lawsuit involving Sean “Diddy” Combs. According to newly revealed court documents, the Duke of Sussex claims the article was part of “a large number of false and highly derogatory articles” released by Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) “in retaliation” for his legal action over alleged phone hacking and unlawful information gathering, as reported by The Guardian.
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Prince Harry alleged targeted coverage by The Sun
Prince Harry alleged that the article, along with others published by The Sun and The Sun on Sunday, had “a hugely negative impact on his mental health and that of his wife and children”. The publication denied the claims of any such motivations and insisted that the article was accurate and “The Sun publishes stories about the Duke of Sussex which are justified because of the role he holds and the actions he has taken.”
Prince Harry’s claims form part of a legal document, a skeleton argument, submitted in support of his bid for damages over alleged unlawful conduct by News Group Newspapers (NGN). The case, brought jointly with former deputy Labour leader Tom Watson, was settled out of court in January, with a reported payout exceeding £10 million covering legal fees and damages.
Had it proceeded to trial, NGN intended to argue that the claim was filed too late, falling outside the six-year statute of limitations, and to dispute how certain articles mentioned by Harry were sourced. A judge had already determined that some of his phone hacking allegations were time-barred.
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Inside Prince Harry’s argument with the publication
The Guardian gained access to the legal arguments after both sides agreed to release them, following a request made to High Court judge Mr Justice Fancourt. In the schedule that include the Duke’s claims alleged that, “since issuing his claim on 27 September 2019, NGN has published in the Sun or Sun on Sunday a large number of false and highly derogatory articles about the DoS plainly in retaliation, including articles that suggested he has somehow ‘betrayed’ his family, has ‘lied’ about them to garner sympathy, is a ‘traitor’ to his country and, perhaps most damaging of all, has been named in a high-profile sex-trafficking case.”
His claims also alleged that the articles put “train on his relationship with the royal family that he was forced to leave the institution and relocate to North America, leaving behind all that he knew and held dear”. The reference to a “high-profile sex-trafficking case” concerns a front-page article published by The Sun on 27 March 2024. The story reported that Prince Harry had been named in a £24 million lawsuit filed against Diddy, linking the Duke of Sussex to the legal case.
The story under the headline “Harry named in P Diddy sex traffic case” claimed that “bombshell legal filings allege Diddy used Harry’s name to give ‘legitimacy’ to wild parties where ‘serious illegal activity’ took place”. The bottom of the fourth paragraph shared that Harry was not accused of any wrongdoing. The Sun’s coverage extended over two full pages, focusing on a lawsuit filed by record producer Rodney Jones against Sean “Diddy” Combs. The article appeared while Combs faced criminal charges of sex trafficking and racketeering—claims he strongly denies, as reported by The Guardian.
The Duke of Sussex met Sean Combs only once in 2007 at a memorial concert for Princess Diana and has never attended any of the rapper’s parties. As part of his settlement with News Group Newspapers, the publisher issued an apology for past phone hacking and unlawful intrusion into his private life by The Sun and the now-closed News of the World. Defending its decision to publish the Combs lawsuit story, NGN noted that other outlets had also reported on it and pointed out that Harry had moved to California and stepped back from royal duties years earlier.
