Court claims made by Prince Harry have reportedly left hopes for reconciliation at the coronation in tatters, it’s been claimed.
According to The Telegraph, Harry claimed that his brother William received a secret payout settlement from Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) company after being a victim of phone hacking.
He also alleged in his witness statement that Queen Elizabeth II was personally involved in the secret pact. And he claimed she later gave him permission to bring his own case against the publisher.
Prince Harry court claims
Speaking in his witness statement, Harry claimed that the royal family had agreed not to pursue litigation over phone hacking until other outstanding cases had been settled.
Harry alleged: “The reason for this was to avoid the situation where a member of the royal family would have to sit in the witness box and recount the specific details of the private and highly sensitive voicemails that had been intercepted by Clive Goodman [the former royal correspondent of the News of the World who admitted hacking].”
The reason for this was to avoid the situation where a member of the royal family would have to sit in the witness box.
Dragging his brother into his phone hacking case, Harry went on to claim: “NGN still settled [the Prince of Wales’] claim for a huge sum of money in 2020.” NGN has denied having a secret settlement with the palace.
Coronation peace hopes in tatters
The Duke’s claims have been made public just over a week before his father’s coronation on Saturday May 6. Buckingham Palace recently announced that Prince Harry will be present for the coronation.
William was said to be completely unaware of the contents of Harry’s statement until it was made public, the paper reports. It’s now thought the revelation will only drive a deeper wedge between the brothers.
As a result, sources close to both the Sussexes and the Waleses indicated to the paper that they did not expect any rapprochement when Harry flies to the UK for the coronation.
Harry will attend the coronation on his own. Meghan Markle won’t be attending the event due to it being on the same day as Archie’s birthday.
A spokesperson from Buckingham Palace said: “Buckingham Palace is pleased to confirm that The Duke of Sussex will attend the Coronation Service at Westminster Abbey on 6th May. The Duchess of Sussex will remain in California with Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.”
Prince Harry’s bombshells
Princes Harry and William haven’t been on the best of terms in recent years. Earlier this year, Prince Harry released his autobiography, Spare, and revealed many bombshells.
One of the bombshells was that Prince William got physical with Harry during an argument about Meghan. He also explained that Princess Kate made Meghan cry before their 2018 wedding.
Now, with the latest court claims, the brothers aren’t expected to end their feud in time for their father’s moment on the world stage.
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