Tag: Prince Harry

Prince Harry to sue two UK tabloids over alleged phone hacking

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Prince Harry is suing The Sun and the Daily Mirror, two of Britain’s most popular tabloid newspapers, over alleged phone hacking.

Buckingham Palace confirmed Saturday that claims regarding “illegal interception of voicemail messages” were filed on Harry’s behalf. The palace declined to say more or provide details “given the particulars of the claims are not yet public.”

News Group Newspapers, which owns The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, acknowledged the prince’s High Court action while Reach, which owns the Mirror, said it was “aware that proceedings have been issued” but hasn’t yet received notice of them.

The cases escalate Harry’s fight with the British tabloids. It comes days after his American wife, Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, sued the Mail on Sunday for alleged copyright infringement, misuse of private information and violating the U.K.’s data protection law after the paper published a letter she wrote to her father.

Harry then lambasted British tabloids after Meghan filed her lawsuit on Tuesday, saying in a statement that his wife’s lawsuit, which was months in the making, was a response to a “ruthless campaign” to smear her by creating “lie after lie at her expense” during her maternity leave.

The prince accused the British media of hounding Meghan the way it did his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a 1997 car crash while trying to elude paparazzi.

British tabloid newspapers have paid millions of dollars to settle claims that their employees had hacked the phone voicemails of celebrities, politicians and others in the public eye.

The prince’s lawsuits likely date back years. The News of the World was shut down in 2011, at the height of the hacking scandal and when its former editors later went on trial, a court heard evidence that indicated Harry along with his old brother, Prince William, were targets of the paper’s illicit interception of phone messages.

A transcript of one of the messages read at the trial came from a 2006 recording of William pretending to be Harry’s girlfriend at the time, revealing the extent of media intrusion into their lives.

Harry and William have long had a strained relationship with the press. They grew up in the spotlight and were young boys when their parents’ acrimonious divorce received wall-to-wall coverage.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Prince Harry announces massive travel sustainability project

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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The eco-minded Prince Harry is embarking on a massive travel sustainability initiative in partnership with key travel providers. They aim to improve the practices of the global industry amid an ever-increasing number of travelers.

The Duke of Sussex picked Amsterdam, a city hit hard by over-tourism, to announce Travalyst at a news conference Tuesday with his partners, Booking.com; TripAdvisor; Visa; China’s largest travel company, Ctrip; and the Ctrip-owned fare aggregator Skyscanner.

The long-term initiative is focused on tackling the travel industry’s impact on climate change, improving wildlife conservation, and protecting the environment in top tourist spots around the world. It aims to increase the amount of tourism dollars that go to local communities, and find answers to over-tourism.

“Travel has the unparalleled power to open people’s minds to different cultures, new experiences, and to have a profound appreciation for what our world has to offer,” the duke said in a statement shared with The Associated Press ahead of the formal announcement.

“As tourism inevitably grows, it is critically important to accelerate the adoption of sustainable practices worldwide, and to balance this growth with the needs of the environment and the local population. Bringing companies, consumers and communities together is our best chance to protect destinations and ecosystems for future generations,” he added.

Harry drew criticism this summer when he and his family took a private jet to go on vacation, despite the flight’s carbon impact on the planet. They had flown to the home of singer Elton John, who said the aircraft offered them needed privacy and protection, and was carbon-neutral because it was offset by a contribution to Carbon Footprint.

“I spend 99% of my life traveling the world by commercial” aircraft, Harry said Tuesday. He said he would take a private jet only when circumstances called for it, and would offset the carbon footprint.

Among issues the coalition will focus on is improving on-the-ground travel and tourism entrepreneurship in local communities.

Last year, the number of international trips taken globally reached 1.4 billion, a number reached two years faster than originally projected by the United Nations’ tourism agency, the World Tourism Organization. According to the World Bank, the number of trips taken annually by people around the globe has more than doubled since 2000.

Travel and tourism fed $8.8 trillion into the global economy in 2018, according to the World Travel & Tourism Council. In 10 years, the number of tourists visiting countries in emerging markets will reach 1 billion annually, comprising 57 percent of all international trips, the U.N. agency said.

Gathering service providers into one coalition is a feat unto itself in a competitive industry with piles of profit on the table. Other areas explored will include cleaner aviation fuel, more travel experiences focused on sustainability, and educating tourists on the footprints they make and the waste they leave behind.

“The commitment from these different brands to work together and help build a global network of like-minded social entrepreneurs, NGOs and policymakers is truly inspiring,” said Gillian Tans, chairwoman of Booking.com. “Collaboration is the only path forward if we want to create a real paradigm shift in travel.”

Bryan Dove, chief executive for Skyscanner, said the travel industry has an obligation “to preserve our world for future generations to explore and enjoy — but to do this we need to act now, as change won’t happen overnight.”

Harry began approaching potential partners for the coalition about two years ago. Specific programs and projects will likely be launched within the next 18 months. Harry will be actively at the helm.

Consumers are hungry for change, with 71 percent of global travelers telling Booking.com they think travel companies should offer more sustainable travel choices, and 68 percent saying it was important that their travel dollars support local communities.

At Skyscanner over the last 12 months, 10 million travelers selected the lowest carbon emission flight option, for instance.

Travalyst will be the first initiative to fall under the Sussex Royal charitable foundation of Harry and Meghan after they spun off from the joint trust established by his brother, Prince William, and duchess Kate.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

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Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

The Meghan Factor – always on the wrong side

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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So a prince who will never be king marries a soap actress. You’d think it their business and that the common people, British or worldwide, can get on with their lives. But Harry’s bride appears to be that red rag to the bull raging in most of us. Tabloids and trolls alike have much to say and most of it rude.

Meghan Markle got hate mail from the outset. First Harry appealed to the press to please leave her alone, straightaway identifying us as the enemy. Then he said something about his family being the family she never had, and her family went ‘eh?’ Soon her dad posed for pictures to make some money, and then came a step-sister who called Meghan ‘Princess Pushy’. Only her mother was at her wedding from her side of the family.

A series of PR disasters followed: penning messages to sex workers on bananas, making sis-in-law Kate cry, a fancy baby shower in the US, secrecy during birth and baptism, spending the tax-payer’s money to redo her new home, bodyguards at Wimbledon who asked she not be photographed… Public hatred peaked with her bump being called fake. Yes, she is woke, but maybe too woke? Even Harry’s latest posh pedicure is attributed to her.

Meghan was dismissed from her first interview on, where she clung to Harry’s arm, spoke over him and looked to be the one wearing the pants. Biracial but there are rumours of fairness creams, and her hair is too straight. Divorcee but the murmurs are of two, not one, divorce. Writer Gary Janetti’s insta page, which has many anti-Meghan witticisms, is a big hit. Recently an article hinted that as the eldest of the Fab Four – William-Kate-Harry-Meghan – she should be the more mature one. He misses his mom, was another snide reaction to her being older to Harry.

Now by guest-editing Vogue, she opened yet another can of worms. Laura Kennedy of The Irish Times wrote: ‘The problem with this is that Markle is not a magazine editor, politician or activist.’ When her reason for not going on the cover came out – would be ‘boastful’ – it was seen as a criticism of Kate who has appeared on its cover. Meghan’s ‘Forces for Change’ cover had 15 of inspirational women; the 16^th spot, ever so twee, being a mirror so that the reader herself is the next. A fun-house mirror, apparently, where we see ourselves wonky. The cover itself stands accused of ‘inspiration’ from Samantha Brett and Steph Adams’ best-selling book The Game Changers.

Of course, a passive-aggressive compliment does come her way now and then. Like how she didn’t turn herself skinny immediately after giving birth. But in photos where she stands next to microscopic Kate, paparazzi seems to point out the two waistlines.

Much of the vitriol can be traced back to the fact that she was one of us before she became one of them – a struggling, ageing actor trying to hit big time. Suddenly she is on the other side, waving delicately at us. She had a choice, we felt: represent us or them. She did not choose us.

There’s a reason why Cinderella’s story ends with the wedding.

Shinie Antony is a writer and editor based in Bangalore. Her books include The Girl Who Couldn’t Love, Barefoot and Pregnant, Planet Polygamous, and the anthologies Why We Don’t Talk, An Unsuitable Woman, Boo. Winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Asia Prize for her story A Dog’s Death in 2003, she is co-founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival and director of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival.

Read Shinie Antony’s columns here.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

1 year after wedding: Harry and Meghan have new home, son

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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It’s been an eventful first year of marriage for Prince Harry and the former Meghan Markle, now known formally as the Duchess of Sussex.

The besotted couple wed on May 19, 2018 before rapt crowds outside of Windsor Castle, with one of the largest TV audiences ever assembled.

The couple was lucky enough to enjoy beautiful spring weather on their wedding day. They made the best of it by taking a carriage ride through Windsor.

They maintained a frenetic pace of official engagements until Meghan withdrew from most royal duties in March ahead of the birth of their first child, Archie, who was born this month.

Harry and Meghan have also moved from central London to a more secluded location near Windsor Castle in a quest for privacy.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Baby Archie arrives: How the world welcomed the new British royal

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Archie is here. Prince Harry’s son Harrison – Archie Harrison Mountbatten Windsor to be precise – was born on May 6. Seventh in line to the British throne. First bi-racial individual to be so. Though we have seen only a teeny portion of his forehead so far and do not know his birth details – was he born at home or hospital? – the sight of him bundled in cashmere in his father’s arms got us all choked.

The world had whipped itself into a frenzy throughout Meghan Markle’s pregnancy. We, who hadn’t been this curious about our own baby, held our breath when she hadn’t delivered by due date! And then it happened, the birth. The most famous fetus is now the most famous baby.

Was it a normal delivery? Was it induced? Was it C-section? No details of the actual birth have emerged, so we are content with praising her post-partum bump, the one she proudly displayed in a belted dress. The colour of her dress – white – is another factor to admire. How brave, how bold to wear white immediately after giving birth, went the chorus. The fact that Harry and Meghan made ‘intense’ eye contact while presenting baby to public is also being noted. They are not just about the baby, they are about being a couple.

Body language experts have weighed in: Meghan was nervous, Meghan was protective, Meghan was content, Meghan was lost… We got all views, all perspectives. Harry of course made dad jokes, and was forgiven like all dads are.

Right from the start, from the moment he defended Meghan’s right to privacy and was laughed at for being too much in love or under her thumb, public opinion swung from ‘henpecked’ to ‘feminist’ when it came to describing him. There is no doubt the prince is besotted.

Her belly was watched like a hawk, the bump even called fake by some. Her high heels through the nine months came in for a good deal of criticism. Meghan herself must have caught on to the fact by now that whatever she does or dons will be viewed with the entire range of emotions, from mild curiosity to heavy sneering. And she does come with enough satisfying baggage in terms of dysfunctional family, complete with an evil step-sister, for her haters.

People are divided over Meghan Markle’s poise. Too confident means unable to evoke our protectiveness, too nervous means letting us tear her into shreds. She herself is aware of the tightrope she walks, balancing the fairy tale. Presenting her firstborn, she declared, “It’s magic, it’s pretty amazing. I have the two best guys in the world so I’m really happy.” She also called the baby ‘really calm’, kick-starting his PR.

To be Harry’s son is to be conceived, carried and born in the global gaze. Like Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Loius before him, little Archie will also be stalked and photographed eternally. Hopefully, he will get as used to being stared at as we are used to staring at him.

Shinie Antony is a writer and editor based in Bangalore. Her books include The Girl Who Couldn’t Love, Barefoot and Pregnant, Planet Polygamous, and the anthologies Why We Don’t Talk, An Unsuitable Woman, Boo. Winner of the Commonwealth Short Story Asia Prize for her story A Dog’s Death in 2003, she is co-founder of the Bangalore Literature Festival and director of the Bengaluru Poetry Festival.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

It’s a boy! Meghan, wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, gives birth

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex and wife of Britain’s Prince Harry, gave birth to a boy on Monday, the seventh-in-line to the throne and described by his proud father as “absolutely to die for”.

The baby, who has not yet been named, was born in the early hours of the morning weighing 7 lbs 3oz (3.2 kg). Both Meghan and the baby, the couple’s first child, were both healthy and well, the palace said.

“How any woman does what they do is beyond comprehension but we’re both absolutely thrilled and so grateful to all the lovely support from everybody out there,” a smiling Harry told reporters in Windsor, west of London where the couple live.

“It was amazing, absolutely incredible. As I say, I am so incredibly proud of my wife and, as every father and parent would ever say your baby is absolutely amazing, this little baby is absolutely to die for.”

Harry, Queen Elizabeth’s grandson, was present for the birth and Doria Ragland, Meghan’s mother, was also with the couple at their home, Frogmore Cottage, on the estate of Windsor Castle where they married in May last year.

The queen and other members of the royal family were delighted by the news, the palace said.

Prime Minister Theresa May sent congratulations.

“Wishing you all the best at this happy time,” she told the royal couple on Twitter.

The baby is the eighth great grandchild of the 93-year-old queen, the world’s longest-reigning monarch, and could be entitled to hold joint British and American citizenship according to nationality rules.

However, the child will not automatically be a prince or a princess and any such title would have to be bestowed by the queen by issuing what is known as a letter patent.

Albert, Philip, Arthur and James are the favourite names for the child, according to bookmakers.

Britain’s royal family attracts huge media interest but the younger members, especially Harry, 34, and Meghan, 37, a U.S.-born former actress, are treated like Hollywood superstars.

‘Modern Monarchy’

Unlike Harry’s brother Prince William and his wife Kate, who posed for massed photographers outside a London hospital just hours after their three children were born, Harry and Meghan are expected to take part in only a limited photo call in the grounds of Windsor Castle, within a few days of the birth.

For some the child’s birth will represent a significant moment for the monarchy, becoming the first mixed race baby born into a senior position in British royalty, according to royal experts.

“It’s symbolic of a more modern monarchy. It appeals to people across the world,” royal biographer Claudia Joseph told Reuters. “They will be able to identify with the royal family as never before.”

Others note however that Meghan, whose mother is African-American and father is white, has been the target of racist commentary on social media.

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow

Forget Brexit, there’s a new British royal baby on the way

KV Prasad Jun 13, 2022, 06:35 AM IST (Published)

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For Britons wearied by the endless contortions of their country’s exit from the European Union, the impending birth of Prince Harry and his American wife Meghan’s first baby is set to provide some welcome light relief.

Even though the child will only be seventh in line to the British throne, such has been the interest in the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, as Harry and Meghan are officially known, that his or her birth is set to grab headlines across the globe.

“There will be huge interest in Harry and Meghan’s baby,” said Ingrid Seward, editor of Majesty magazine. “It’s another potential grandchild for Diana, it’s the mixture of Harry and Meghan and it’s less than a year since they were married so the interest is going to be enormous.”

There has long been fascination with the British royal family, particularly in the United States, and the younger members such as Harry, 34, his elder brother William, 36, and their spouses are regularly greeted by large crowds and feted like film stars.

Some two billion people were estimated to have watched the 2011 wedding of William to wife Kate and tens of millions tuned in to see the marriage of Harry, son of heir-to-the-throne Prince Charles and his late first wife Diana, to US actress Meghan at Windsor Castle last May.

Their union, bringing together royalty and celebrity, has proved an irresistible combination for the world’s media.

“I think people really fell in love with their love story,” said Laura Hills, Assistant Editor (Features & Royal) at OK! Magazine.

“The fairytale of … the prince falling for the American actress and for sort of the Hollywood side of her life, the fact she was on a Netflix TV show and now … she’s attending royal engagements so I think that definitely creates a wider interest.”

During an event in January, Meghan, 37, revealed that she was six months pregnant and she is not expected to carry out any more official engagements before the birth.

“It’s all very exciting,” said Rosie O’Dea, 25, as she walked across Westminster Bridge near parliament. “It’s showing that the royal family is a little bit more progressive than maybe thought before, with Meghan from the States and a bi-racial baby and everything and that’s brilliant.”

“You know I think they kind of need to show that they’re in keeping with the times as well,” she added.

Changed Perceptions

Leon Campbell, who was skateboarding near the London Eye ferris wheel, said the couple had helped change perceptions about the royals.

“I’ll be more interested in this (royal baby) because Harry is the cool one, … he’s the wild card, he’s the ginger one,” he said.

Veteran royal editor Robert Jobson from London’s Evening Standard newspaper said it would be a very special baby whose arrival would match the excitement generated by the birth of Prince George, William’s first son and a future king.

“The reality is Meghan – American, divorcee, bi-racial, marries Prince Harry – their child is going to be an incredibly important child in terms of the monarchy but also in terms of America. You know she is very much America’s princess,” he told Reuters.

“I have not seen this much interest in anybody, not even Kate when she married Prince William.”

However, in the same way many Britons have complained of Brexit boredom and the incessant media coverage it generates, some are hardly thrilled by the prospect of the another royal.

“Everyone has babies … so frankly I don’t care,” said Donna Smith, sitting a cafe at an east London market. But for those whose job it is to document the royals, there is no doubting the interest the new baby will generate.

“It could be 27th (in line to the throne) – it’s Harry’s baby, Harry and Meghan are the big story now,” said photographer Arthur Edwards, who has covered the royals for the Sun tabloid for more than four decades.

“He is much loved here by the people. There’ll be huge crowds at the hospital when they bring the little baby out.”

Elon Musk forms several ‘X Holdings’ companies to fund potential Twitter buyout

3 Mins Read

Thursday’s filing dispelled some doubts, though Musk still has work to do. He and his advisers will spend the coming days vetting potential investors for the equity portion of his offer, according to people familiar with the matter

KV Prasad Journo follow politics, process in Parliament and US Congress. Former Congressional APSA-Fulbright Fellow