Prince Harry had been bringing a case against the Daily Mail’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited, along with seven other high-profile plaintiffs.
The Duke of Sussex had accused the publisher of acquiring private information through “illegal” means and had given detailed evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice last month.
When asked why he had not complained about some of the articles central to his claim, Harry responded that “to some extent” he believed the information contained in the articles came from legitimate sources.
He also thought that “the institution” would not have allowed him to file complaints anyway.
While Harry’s case is still ongoing, a surprise connection to Jeffery Epstein emerged in which the convicted pedophile claimed he was asked by “the Palace” to take legal action against a newspaper for alleged phone hacking.
In the email, dated July 12, 2011, Epstein sought legal advice on how he should open the case against the New York Post, which is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s News Group in New York.
“If you have been following Rupert Murdoch and News Intl. he closed one of his newspapers in London after he was caught hacking a phone,” the email reads.
“Well, there’s no love lost in the palace for him. They say they have proof that the New York Post hacked into my phones to get to Prince Andrew.”
He continued: “The palace has asked me if I would file a lawsuit in New York. a.) I’m not a sympathetic figure, but the girl who accused Andrew is even less credible than Strauss Kahn’s maid b.) I’m not sure I want the battle. c) I’m not sure if you would be conflicted.”
It is unclear what is referred to as “the Palace” in the email. It could have been Andrew Mountbatten-Windsor or it could be the institution itself.
The email in question comes from the latest batch of documents released by the US Department of Justice. It was sent two days after News of the World closed after its owners, News International, admitted to pirating its work.
This seems to be similar in tone to Prince Harry’s lawsuit, but it’s possible that these two events have a connection. It remains to be seen how things develop in the case.
