Harry said in his statement he was keen to “force an apology from Murdoch”, using access to the wedding as leverage, and said his brother was “very understanding and supportive”, suggesting he seek permission from the late Queen to file his own phone hacking legal claim against NGN in 2017.
He said his grandmother “gave the green light”, but then his efforts to bring forward a claim were thwarted by a lack of support from officials within the Royal household.
In February 2018, three months before his wedding, Harry asked an official for the “latest on the phone hacking”, adding: “They are running out of time.”
In a second message, he wrote: “The institution is supposed to be leading on this and is being made to look ineffective and weak. I can’t begin to tell you what it will say about the institution if this isn’t resolved before the baby arrival and wedding.
“If it isn’t resolved, should the Queen be allowing them to Windsor on May 19th?
“They have NO excuse for not getting this sorted. We all want to draw a line under this but judging by their behaviour thus far, they will pay whatever they can to keep this out of court when it comes to other victims. There needs to be an ultimatum otherwise this institution and everything it stands for becomes a laughing stock.”
After being told in March 2018 of “continued silence” from NGN bosses in New York, Harry wrote: “With HM fully supporting this I don’t think I need to remind anyone how important it is to resolve this before end of April.
“Putting her in the position of having to invite these people into Windsor Castle without resolution is not an option.”
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The Duke said when he finally did file legal claims against NGN and the Mirror Group Newspapers in 2019, I was “summoned to Buckingham Palace and specifically told to drop the legal actions because they have an ‘effect on all the family’”, adding that the demand came from his father’s Private Secretary.