Prince Harry appeared at the New York Times’ DealBook Summit on Wednesday, December 4th, in the late afternoon. Apparently, at least one British newspaper (the Times of London) was doing a live blog of his appearance, only they abruptly stopped the live thread when Harry began talking about his lawsuits against News Group Newspapers and other outlets. Amazing. Harry was very chatty with Andrew Ross Sorkin, and he discussed a good mix of professional, legal and personal subjects. Some of Harry’s comments:
Whether all of the constant speculation about his marriage is actually a good thing: “No, that’s definitely not a good thing. Apparently we’ve bought or moved house 10, 12 times. We’ve apparently divorced maybe 10, 12 times as well. So it’s just like, what?’ It’s hard to keep up with, but that’s why you just sort of ignore it. The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls. Their hopes are just built and built, and it’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and then it doesn’t happen. So I feel sorry for them. Genuinely, I do.”
On his life in the US: “I very much enjoy living here and bringing up my kids here,” adding that there are activities he can do here with his children that he “undoubtedly wouldn’t be able to do in the U.K. It’s a part of my life that I never thought I’d be able to live. It’s the life I think my mom would have wanted for me … It’s huge. It’s a fantastic opportunity and I am truly grateful for that.”
On misinformation: “I’ve seen stories written about myself not exactly based in reality. When you grow up with that environment, you find yourself questioning the validity of the information, but also what other people are thinking as well, and how dangerous it can be over the course of time. I think again, when you are kind of trapped within this bubble, it kind of feels like there’s no way out. What happened to my mom and the fact that I was a kid and felt helpless, there comes the inner turmoil. I felt helpless. One of my biggest weaknesses is feeling helpless. What worried me most was worrying that would happen to me, or to my wife, or to my kids.”
Whether he reads about himself: “Throughout my life there would be moments in my life when I read a lot and moments when I read nothing. I highly recommend the latter. Once you stop reading the stuff about yourself, you automatically remove the power from their hands. With that element of fear comes an element of control. and one of the reasons I probably didn’t, I guess, remove myself from that situation sooner was that very fear: ‘Well, they control the narrative,’ whatever I do or say, they can effectively control me and keep me in that space.’”
His lawsuit against the Mudoch-owned News Group Newspapers: “This claim, the hacking stuff, is almost 15 years old. The coverup of the hacking is relatively new. I think that will be the piece that shocks the world. I scratch my head thinking, ‘You know, has this passed?’ And certainly that’s what they would like to think. In these five years, the retaliation and the intimidation for me as a witness has been extraordinary, especially towards my wife and children.”
He once said that the First Amendment is “bonkers” & when asked about it again: “There’s no way I’m going to talk about that.”
Accountability: Prince Harry said his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloids for hacking his phone was about “accountability,” but he acknowledged that any settlement he might be awarded would likely be dwarfed by his legal costs.
On his escape from the UK: “We were running from something. Quite a few things, actually.”
[From The NYT & People Magazine]
Harry is a bad man!! “The people I feel most sorry about are the trolls. Their hopes are just built and built, and it’s like, ‘Yes, yes, yes, yes, yes,’ and then it doesn’t happen. So I feel sorry for them. Genuinely, I do.” I haven’t checked to see how the Deranger contingent is doing, but I think he really did summarize it accurately. Those people have spent eight long years praying for Harry and Meghan’s downfall and it still hasn’t happened. Oh well! The part where he talks about how he loves raising his children in America is great too – the Mail turned that into a headline already – “Prince Harry reveals why he’ll never leave the U.S. and return home with Meghan Markle,” because they still believe that the UK is “home” for the Sussexes, even though they’ve lived in California for nearly five full years?
Prince Harry – “Thanks for the intro”
NYT #DealBook Summit introduces Prince Harry and journalist Andrew Sorkin explains why he wanted to have the Duke on.#PrinceHarryinNYC pic.twitter.com/ce9mFfYhZw
— ChrisBaronSmith (@ChrisBaronSmit1) December 4, 2024
Best clip you’ll see today is Prince Harry trolling the trolls ???? pic.twitter.com/xiLOOgvL91
— Dani ???? (@ArchLiliHazMeg) December 4, 2024
Photos courtesy of Getty.
