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The bad blood between Prince Harry and Piers Morgan shows no signs of evaporating, with the broadcaster responding sharply to news of Harry’s court victory over Morgan’s former employer this week.
Following Harry’s victory against Mirror Group Newspapers at the High Court in London on Friday, when he was awarded £400,000 ($500,000) in settlement of his claim against the publisher for damages suffered from the hacking of his phone earlier In the 2000s, Morgan told reporters outside his home:
“Invading the privacy of the Royal Family is absolutely reprehensible and I share Prince Harry’s opinion on that… I just wish he would stop doing it.”
In the same day, Morgan wrote in New York Post who, during Harry’s visit to London this week to see his father, King Charles, following the latter’s cancer diagnosis, understood why Harry had not been seen by his brother: “William would rather shoot himself than be in the same room as someone whom he now considers a despicable traitor.”
Morgan has long criticized Harry and his wife Meghan Markle for complaining about intrusion into their private lives, while giving interviews, publishing books and documentaries revealing behind-the-scenes moments of the British royal family.
Morgan, as He daily mirrorHarry’s editor between 1995 and 2004, was the target of Harry’s statement read aloud by his lawyer, following the Duke’s legal victory:
“Even his own employer realized that he simply could not call him as a truth witness at trial,” Harry’s statement read. “Your disregard of him for the court’s ruling and your continued attacks on him since then demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed ruling.”
As Deadline reported yesterday, the High Court in London heard that MGN, which publishes The daily mirror against whom Harry said he was the victim of more than 140 cases of illegal news gathering, has reached an agreement with the prince. MGN will make a costs payment of around £400,000 ($500,000), the BBC reported, and additional costs will be assessed.
Harry was by no means the only plaintiff and there were around 100 others, including the likes of run actors Michael Turner and Nikkie Sanderson. Claimants’ sources told the BBC that MGN’s combined legal bill would be around £2m.
Harry is now back in the United States, where he presented an award in Las Vegas on Thursday. He is expected to return to Britain in May for a service at St Paul’s Cathedral to mark the 10th anniversary of the Invictus Games.