London (AFP)
He had warned that he would not let his wife Meghan be harassed like his mother Diana: Prince Harry on Friday launched a major legal offensive against the British tabloids for alleged hacking.
After a complaint against the Mail on Sunday earlier this week, the 35-year-old prince is now in an open war against the press. Among the new procedures, one is targeting the most-read tabloid, The Sun, confirmed Friday its owner, News Group Newspapers.
According to several media, which evoke piracy mailboxes, a complaint has also been filed against the Daily Mirror.
On Tuesday, the prince had stepped up to defend his wife Meghan, 38 years old. He announced on the couple's website a lawsuit against the publication of a private letter by the Mail on Sunday, "illegally, with the intention of destroying (...) omitting paragraphs, certain sentences and even words to hide the lies uttered for a year ".
He was referring to the publication in February by the tabloid Mail on Sunday of a letter from Meghan to his father Thomas Markle, to which she has distanced herself, and which does not miss an opportunity to unburden herself. to the media about his broken relationship with his daughter.
"My biggest fear is that history repeats itself," Prince Harry explained in a letter posted on his website. "I lost my mother and now I see my wife becoming the victim of the same powerful forces".
Pursued by motorcycle paparazzi, "Lady Di" died on August 31, 1997 in a car accident in Paris.
This letter from the youngest son of Prince Charles, sixth in the order of succession to the throne of the United Kingdom, "is the most extraordinary statement issued by a member of the royal family," said Penny Junor, author of a biography of Prince Harry, quoted by The Sun.
"I fully understand that Harry feels protective towards his wife and there have certainly been negative stories over the past nine months that must have been hurtful (...) and they 'have not found a lie or ruthless campaign' against the couple, she added.
- "capricious Duchess" -
The British tabloid press, however, had at first welcomed the American woman with open arms, as a breath of fresh air for the royal family. But she was quick to turn against her with vitriolic items.
From the beginning of his relationship with the African-American actress, Prince Harry had stepped up to the plate by way of an unusually strong statement sent by his services in November 2016, denouncing "the denigration in one of a national daily "as well as" the sexism and racism of social networks ".
Meghan was first subjected to a series of criticisms for his behavior, after a series of resignations among the staff of the royal house, inheriting the sobriquet of "duchess capricious" (Duchess Difficult).
And this summer, the couple was vilified for using private jets for holidays on two occasions while defending environmental causes.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex had also been crushed in the press because of the cost of renovating their housing, a cottage located on the grounds of Windsor Castle - 2.4 million pounds (2.7 million euros ) at the expense of the British taxpayer.
The tabloids also did not appreciate being kept out of the birth and baptism of Archie, the son of Harry and Meghan, whose images have been doled out since birth in May. latest.
In an editorial this week, the Sun lashed out at the "irritability" of the "self-pitying" prince and justified the articles on the "controversial Meghan family". "Criticism is not" bully + ", defended the tabloid, calling the young couple to harden themselves.
© 2019 AFP