Prince Harry's Flirty Texts to Journalist Exposed in Privacy Trial
Private messages exchanged between Prince Harry and a journalist more than a decade ago have resurfaced in a London court, revealing a series of informal and flirtatious conversations that are now central to his ongoing legal battle against Associated Newspapers. The messages, presented during closing arguments in the Duke of Sussex's lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, were exchanged between December 2011 and January 2012 with then-Mail on Sunday journalist Charlotte Griffiths.
In one message dated December 4, 2011, Harry wrote, "It's H, in case u were confused by name and picture!!! X." Griffiths replied, "What a fun weekend of naughtiness, can't we all get up to no good in the countryside every weekend damn it?? Smooches." The exchanges show Griffiths referring to Harry as "Mr. Mischief," while the prince humorously commented on attending formal events, stating he had to "make polite conversation with strange people at a dinner" while "begging them for money for charity."
Intimate Details and Social Context
In a later message dated January 22, 2012, Griffiths wrote, "I WISH I was there sugar but unfortunately stuck in Cornwall doing Army stuff," to which Harry responded, "Otherwise I would have been there playing and then drinking u under the table, obvi!!" He added, "Just wish I could have been there... especially now that you're there! Dou ever work?!!.... Hope you're really well Griff... Miss our movie snuggles!! I'm off comms all week in case u think I'm being rude, keep me posted xxx xxx xxx."
These messages were exchanged after Harry's relationship with Chelsy Davy ended in 2011 and before he began dating Cressida Bonas in 2012. He later met Meghan Markle in 2016, and the couple married in 2018, adding historical context to the personal nature of the communications.
Legal Battle and Allegations
The resurfacing of these messages is part of Harry's lawsuit, launched in October 2022, in which he accuses Associated Newspapers of unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking and other privacy breaches between 1993 and 2011. Associated Newspapers has denied the allegations, suggesting that some information may have come from individuals within Harry's social circle.
In a witness statement, Griffiths said, "We were all the same age and going to the same places in London at night so knew each other socially for a time." She added, "My friends, including the group that introduced me to Prince Harry, knew that I was a journalist and had gone to work for Katie Nicholl at the Mail on Sunday." The trial concluded on Tuesday, March 31, with a judge yet to deliver a verdict, leaving the outcome of this high-profile privacy case pending.
