Prince Harry reveals his 'lack of privacy since birth' in powerful speech
The Duke of Sussex gave his speech in WashingtonPrince Harry has opened up about privacy in a new speech at the IAPP Global Summit 2026.
On Tuesday evening, the Duke of Sussex was in Washington DC where he delivered his speech.
Speaking in front of four thousand privacy professionals, Harry discussed his own personal struggles regarding privacy.
Prince Harry issues new speech on privacy struggles
As reported by the Independent, he said: “My connection to privacy, and the lack of it, begins in a different place than most. From birth.
“You may know that I’ve spent the past seven years in litigation against three media organisations in the UK over their systemic and unlawful invasions of privacy, as well as the cover-up of it, dating back to the early 2000s.”
Harry, along with several other celebrity claimants, have sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over alleged breaches of privacy.
In many ways, it comes at a personal and reputational cost for me, my wife, and our children.
They brought legal action against ANL for alleged unlawful information gathering methods.
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They claimed ANL had written articles based on information, which was gathered unlawfully, like phone hacking, phone tapping and blagging.
The publisher strongly denied the allegations. In January, Harry appeared in court in the UK to give evidence in the case.
‘I have nothing to gain from taking on powerful institutions’
Continuing his speech on Tuesday, Harry said his legal fight was “absolutely” worth it despite the “personal and reputational cost” to him and his family.
He reportedly described the “worst examples of an industry that too often behaves as though it owns people’s privacy – and feels it gets to decide what constitutes the public interest”.
He continued: “Unfortunately, I have come to learn that this exploitation has become normalised.
“That breaches of privacy have morphed into commercial tactics across industries, notably the tech industry with innovations like social media platforms and advances in artificial intelligence.
“As you can perhaps tell, I have nothing to gain from taking on powerful institutions. In many ways, it comes at a personal and reputational cost for me, my wife, and our children.”
He added: “But is it worth it? Absolutely. Because this is about more than one individual – it is about the systems that shape and influence all of our lives.”
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