My Royal Scandal
I stalked Prince Harry for the tabloids – then both of our lives were destroyed
By Duncan Larcombe
Prince Harry is victorious.
Finally, after a six year courtroom battle, he’s won an historic triumph against his arch enemy Rupert Murdoch.
The spoils include a ground-breaking apology, an unprecedented admission of wrongdoing, and a multi-million payout from The Sun newspaper.
But still, the angry Duke won’t stop.
The war is far from over – and now, he’s calling for more blood, as declared in his dramatic statement outside of court.
A war of annihilation is being waged.
But how did it come to this?
It wasn’t so long ago that the Prince seemed to be a friend of the tabloids.
Even I considered him to be a pal of sorts.
If anyone knows the reasons behind Prince Harry’s War – I do.
Why? Because I was the Royal Editor of The Sun when it was all kicking off.
I will tell you the story of how I ‘discovered’ Prince Harry.
Or rather revealed him to the world as a fresh faced teenage royal.
In doing so, I broke a long-standing agreement with the palace to protect his privacy, so that he could grow-up without being hounded by paps and hacks, and escape the fate of his mother Princess Diana.
But despite the uneasy peace, I soon developed a good working relationship with him and his aides.
For a few years, the arrangement looked like a win-win.
Prince Harry became a global phenomenon, and The Sun made millions of pounds from my exclusives.
Remember ‘Harry the Nazi’, and the infamous naked billiards in his Las Vegas hotel suite? My career rocketed.
Prince Harry was living the dream…a beautiful girlfriend back home, fighting for his country in Afghanistan and adored by tens of millions fans worldwide.
But ultimately, it was a deal with the devil.
The seeds of the biggest media scandal in history were sowed – and both of our lives were eventually destroyed.
History repeated itself – Prince Harry was stalked from one side of the planet to the other by me and my Fleet Street pack.
His relationships were crushed, and his mental health battered.
I also got PTSD from the stress from working for my tyrannical bosses.
Then, I was arrested and charged with bribing one of Prince Harry’s army sergeants for inside tips.
For four years, I fought to clear my name, eventually walking free from Court 16 of the Old Bailey.
Two suicide attempts, the break-up of my family and a journey through rehab was the price I paid.
Harry fell out with his brother Prince William, broke away from the Royal family and fled abroad with his new love Meghan Markle to raise his children.
Then, he set about getting revenge – or justice, as he sees it – against the press who’d driven him (and his mother) to despair.
I am the first journalist to break his silence about the inside story, posing far reaching questions for my former employers.
Read all about it here, in My Royal Scandal.