Celebrity
Prince Harry and Meghan Markle’s troubled relationship with the British royal family: Timeline of events
Prince Harry‘s troubled relationships with the British royal family, the UK establishment and the media have played out in public for years – in books and interviews, on television programs and in the courts.
The latest twist saw Harry give a revealing interview after a court rejected his attempt to restore the police protection that was stripped from him after he quit his royal duties and moved to the US in 2020.
Here is a timeline of recent events involving Harry and the British royal family.
READ MORE: Harry wants a royal return. History proves it won’t happen
July 2016
Prince Harry and American actor Meghan Markle meet on a blind date set up by a mutual friend.
November 8, 2016
Harry confirms Markle is his girlfriend and condemns press coverage of her. He says he fears for her safety and says press coverage crossed the line and used “racial undertones” in its stories.
His comments remind many that his mother, Princess Diana, had died in a car crash while being pursued by photographers.
November 27, 2017
Harry and Meghan announce their engagement.
May 19, 2018
Meghan and Harry get married in a grand ceremony at Windsor Castle.
2019-onwards
Harry launches lawsuits against three newspaper groups – Rupert Murdoch’s News Group, the Mirror Group and Associated Newspapers.
He claims stories about his schooldays, teenage shenanigans and relationships with girlfriends were obtained by hacking, bugging, deception or other forms of illegal intrusion.
READ MORE: Meghan posts rare photo of Harry with their kids after raw interview
May 6, 2019
Harry and Meghan’s son Archie is born.
January 8, 2020
Harry and Meghan announce they plan to “step back” as senior royals and become financially independent.
The decision soon becomes a major rift, and the couple moves to Meghan’s native California.
READ MORE: Why Harry’s recent BBC interview has ‘backfired spectacularly’
February 2020
The committee that oversees royal security decides Harry will not receive the same level of taxpayer-funded protection as he did when he was a full-time royal.
September 20, 2020
Harry launches legal action against the UK government over the security decision.
World-shaking secret Harry, Meghan were keeping in this pic
February 11, 2021
Meghan wins an invasion of privacy lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over publication of a letter she wrote in 2018 to her estranged father.
June 4, 2021
Meghan and Harry’s daughter Lilibet is born.
September 8, 2022
Queen Elizabeth II dies aged 96 after 70 years on the throne. Her eldest son becomes King Charles III.
January 10, 2023
Harry’s ghostwritten memoir Spare is published and becomes a best-seller. It recounts Harry’s grief at the death of his mother when he was 12, his frustrations in his royal role and anger at his father, brother, stepmother and the media, among others.
May 6, 2023
King Charles is crowned at Westminster Abbey. Harry attends without Meghan or the children.
June 6-7, 2023
Harry testifies in his case against the Mirror Group, becoming the first British royal in more than a century to appear in the witness box.
December 5, 2023
A three-day court hearing begins on Harry’s claim over his security. Lawyers for the prince argue the decision to downgrade his protection was “unlawful and unfair.”
Deceber 15, 2023
Harry wins his case against the Mirror Group when a judge rules that Mirror newspapers had hired private investigators to snoop for personal information and engaged in illegal phone hacking for well over a decade.
He is awarded legal costs and 140,000 pounds in damages.
February 5, 2024
Buckingham Palace announces that King Charles has cancer and will receive treatment.
Officials don’t say what form of cancer the king has.
February 7, 2024
Prince Harry arrives in the UK from California to visit his father. He departs the next day.
February 28, 2024
The High Court dismisses Harry’s claim.
June 6, 2024
The Court of Appeal decision giving Harry permission to challenge the ruling over his security is published.
January 22, 2025
The publisher of tabloid newspaper The Sun settles a lawsuit, offering Harry “a full and unequivocal apology” for intruding on his private life between 1996 and 2011, including incidents of unlawful activities.
April 8-9, 2025
Harry attends a two-day appeal hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice, where his lawyers argue he has been “singled out” for “inferior treatment” over his security.
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May 2, 2025
Three Court of Appeal judges dismiss Harry’s case, saying the security decision was “sensible.”
Harry responds in an interview, saying the decision means he can’t bring his wife and children to his home country.
He says he wants reconciliation with his family, saying “there’s no point in continuing to fight anymore.”
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