Harry Reveals Why He Finally Broke Royal Family’s ‘Never Complain, Never Explain’ Motto
Prince Harry is currently in the UK for his court case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. The closely watched trial has concluded its third day of hearings, with the Duke facing two hours of questioning from the publisher's legal team. While he took the witness stand confidently, Harry's witness statement detailed why he did not raise any objections against the invasive stories about his private affairs sooner. He suggested that his relationship with the media had always been ‘uneasy’ and added that being part of the Royal Family made it next to impossible to speak out.
This would be Prince Harry’s third case against a media group, having sued the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) and News Group Newspapers (NGN) in the past. The Duke, along with six other public figures, including Sir Elton John and Sadie Frost, has accused the publisher of gathering private details through unlawful means. This includes phone tapping as well as placing hearing devices in their vehicles. When he took the stand to give his testimony, the Duke explained that his issues with the media’s blatant reporting started after the passing of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. He explained that despite his long-standing anger, his role as a “member of the institution,” referring to the Royal Family, forced him to follow the “never complain, never explain” policy." There was no alternative; I was conditioned to accept it,” he highlighted. The policy didn’t just stop him from suing; it also stopped him from even thinking that he had a claim.
Allegedly, the ‘never complain, never explain’ policy originated from British PM Benjamin Disraeli and was later adopted by the Queen Mother. Others slowly followed suit, especially during controversial public matters. Adding more to the definition, royal biographer Penny Junor told PEOPLE, “There has been a long tradition in the British royal family of riding criticism out and keeping your head down and taking the long view. Crises come and go, and people get criticized — often for five minutes by the media, who then move on.” While Junor suggested that the media might move on in five minutes, Harry’s whole argument is that for him, the invasion was a ‘recurring traumatic experience' that lasted decades.
In his 23-page statement, the Duke revealed that after his relationship with Markle became public, he was ‘troubled’ that he was unable to take a stand against the press even after their repeated ‘vicious’ attacks and ‘racist’ articles against his then-girlfriend. The situation got worse, he noted, after the Duchess became pregnant with their first child, Prince Archie. A huge break from the ‘never complain, never explain’ rule happened when Markle filed a lawsuit against ANL in 2019 for publishing the contents of a private letter she had written for her father, Thomas Markle. She won the case in 2021.
Answering why he did not bring the current claims years earlier, Harry suggested that when he brought up the claims against the two groups (MGN and NGN), he had ‘no idea’ he may also have a claim against ANL. “If I had known earlier, then I would have acted, particularly given ANL’s treatment of Meghan and her claim against it,” he suggested, saying that if he had known back in 2019 that he also had a claim for phone tapping or spying, then he would have added it to the fight immediately.