April 2, 2026

Prince Harry’s “Mr Mischief” Messages Complicate His Privacy Case

Show Notes
Transcript

Newly disclosed Facebook messages in Prince Harry’s privacy case appear to show a much warmer relationship with a Mail on Sunday journalist than he previously described in court, raising awkward new questions about the image he has presented in his long-running battle with the press.

We break down the “Mr Mischief” messages, what they could mean for Harry’s credibility, and why Deep Crown says the issue is not whether Harry was harmed — but whether the story he tells about himself still fully holds together.

Plus: Harry speaks in Washington about privacy and surveillance, a new royal book claims Queen Elizabeth would not take his calls without someone else present, and Meghan shares fresh lifestyle advice involving flower arranging, a $255 tea bloom box, and what will almost certainly become social media material by the end of the day.

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Royal Books:

Revenge: Meghan, Harry, and the War Between the Windsors by Tom Bower

William and Catherine: The Monarchy's New Era: The Inside Story

The Royal Insider: My Life with the Queen, the King and Princess Diana

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A Calorouga shark media All and welcome through Palace intrigg.

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I'm your host, Mark Francis. According to a report in

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the Telegraph, newly disclosed Facebook messages shown him Prince Harry's

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privacy case appeared to suggest he was on much friendlier

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terms with Mail On Sunday journalist Charlotte Griffiths than he

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previously indicated in court. The messages, dating from late twenty

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eleven into early twenty twelve, reportedly show Harry exchanging playful

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and personal notes with Griffiths, including calling her sugar, signing

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off with kisses, and joking about movie snuggles. That matters

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because Harry had told the High Court he had only

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met Griffith once at a party and cut off contact

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the next day once he realized she was a journalist.

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Back in January, the Telegraph reported Harry told the High

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Court he had never used the name mister Mischief to

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communicate with a journalist, rejecting claims that he had used

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the pseudonym on Facebook. He said, I have never used

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the name mister Mischief, he told the Court, for the

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avoidance of doubt. I'm not friends with any of these

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journalists and never have been. My social circles were not leaky.

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I wanted to make that absolutely clear. During his evidence,

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Harry described his experience with the press in stark terms,

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saying he had been forced to perform for journalists he

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disliked and that his life had been treated as open

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season and commercialized by these people. The messages shown in

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court painter more familiar picture. In one exchange, Harry wrote,

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it's h in case you were confused by my name

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and picture x as in kiss. After Griffiths described a

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fun weekend of naughtiness, Harry replied, what a crowd never

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laughed so much in twenty four hours, and in one

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of the more eyebrow raising exchanges, he later wrote, I

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wish I was there, Sugar, but unfortunately stuck in Cornwall

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doing army stuff sad emoji. Otherwise I would have been

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there playing and then drinking you under the table. Obviously.

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He then added, just wish I could have been there,

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especially now that you're there. Do you ever work? Hope

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you're really well, griff miss our movie snuggles. I'm off

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colms all wig in case you think I'm being rude,

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keep me posted, and then nine ex'es Griffiths had previously

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told the court that she and Harry moved in some

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of these same social circles and had attended parties hosted

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by mutual friends. Harry, by contrast, maintained he had little

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idea who she really was socially under broken contact once

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he understood she worked for the press. The case, which

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ran for nearly ten weeks at the High Court in London,

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saw Harry and six other high profile claimants accuse Associated

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Newspapers of unlawfully gathering private information over decades. Associated Newspapers

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has strongly denied the allegations, with its legal team describing

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the claims as preposterous smears. During closing arguments, Harry's barrister,

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David Sherborne said any finally of unlawful activity is a disaster,

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but the publisher's lawyer, Anthony White, pushed back, arguing there

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was no solid evidence to support the claims and that

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the case relied on unreliable witnesses. At the end of

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the trial, the judge made clear this is not a

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quick decision. Mister Justice Nicholin said judgment will take some time.

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After a short breakover Easter, I will be working on

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the case and the judgment effectively full time, and I

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will be tolling away on the judgment. Earlier in the proceedings,

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Harry himself described his experience with the press and stark terms,

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saying he had been subjected to an endless pursuit, a

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campaign and obsession with having every aspect of my life

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under surveillance so they could get the run on their competitors.

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The BBC reports the trial was often tense, with emotional

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testimony from several claimants and repeated clashes in court over

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the strength of the evidence being presented. So for now

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the courtroom phase is over. What comes next is a

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waiting game, with the ju judge set to deliver a

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decision that could have significant implications, not just for Harry

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but for alphile. Historic press practices can still be challenged

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in the courts. Prince Harry was in Washington, d C.

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Speaking at the International Association of Privacy Professional's Summit, an

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event focused on privacy, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity. Harry told

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the crowd, Now, my connection to privacy and the lack

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of it begins in a different place than most from birth.

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You may know that I've spent the past of seven

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years in litigation against three media organizations in the UK

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over their systemic and unlawful invasions of privacy, as well

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as the cover up of it dating back to the

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early two thousands. As you can perhaps tell, I have

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nothing to gain from taking on powerful institutions. In many

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ways it comes at a personal and reputational cost for me,

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my wife and our children. But is it worth it, Absolutely,

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because this is about more than one individual. It is

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about the systems that shape and influence all of our lives.

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In his sub stack, Royal insider Deep Crown writes, from

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Birth is doing a great deal of work. In that sentence,

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it is constructing herself that was always purely on the

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receiving end, a self that never at any point participated

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willingly in the world. It is now litigating against a

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self whose social circles were not leaky, who was not

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friends with any of these journalists and never had been.

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The Facebook messages do not disprove the harm. What they

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complicate is the portrait the man who said from Birth

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was It appears voluntarily friending male on Sunday journalist on Facebook,

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sending her his mobile number, attending parties with her, texting

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her in the small hours and signing off his messages

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with kisses. He liked her, she, by her account, liked him.

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They moved in overlapping circles in the way that young

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people in that world did, and there is nothing remotely

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shameful about any of it. What there is is a distance,

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a distance between from birth and woa kisskis kiss. You

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can subscribe to Deep Crown's Substact newsletter for free. Just

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for Deep Crown on Google Call, click the link in

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the show notes, or search for Deep Crown on substack.

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Royal writer Hugo Vickers's new book, Queen Elizabeth the Second,

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a personal History, suggests the Queen would not take Harry's

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phone calls without someone else present. Vickers writes, whenever Prince

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Harry called his grandmother, she asked her lady in waiting

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to stay with her. The distress the SUSSEXSS caused the

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Queen in the last years of her life cannot be overestimated.

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According to a Palace insider quoted in the report, the

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Queen became notably cautious during calls with Harry after the

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Oprah interview, the Netflix series and the publication of Spare.

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The insider said there were lots of one word answers,

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yes and no. The Queen clearly wanted some kind of protection,

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and according to that same source, the Lady in waiting

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remained in the room for moral support and protection to

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ensure there was a record of what was said. The

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insider also said, I think the Queen was also on

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her guard with Harry because she was so hurt by

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what he had done. Vickers also claims the Queen privately

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reduced Harry's new California life to a single role. He

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writes that she told a friend and now Harry is

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opted out and for what to be a career for Archie.

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Vickers further claims the Queen tried to slow Harry down

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before his marriage to Megan. He writes, the Queen suggested

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that Harry should wait a year more Palace in just

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a moment. If you haven't checked out our new podcast,

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Palace Intrigue Presents King William, here's what you need to know.

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It's our speculative fiction series imagining what happens when William

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ascends to the throne, and season two is out right now.

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This season, the monarchy faces its biggest threat yet when

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a bombshell memoir announcement out of California forces King William

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and Queen Catherine to make a decision no royal family

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has ever faced. Does the Queen start a podcast to

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fight back? All ten episodes of season two are available

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for our subscribers. Just tap the banner that says interrupted

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listening and dive in. Palace Intrigue Presents King William Season

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two is available now. Meghan has shared her latest lifestyle

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advice in a new video. In the clip, Megan offers

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tips on arranging flowers for the dinner table, explaining her

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preference for multiple small displays rather than one large centerpiece.

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She said, I like them low, and she added, do

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an entire table scape so you can see everybody as

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you're talking to them during dinner and still have that

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beautiful arrangement will demonstrating, she reassured viewers. It looks complicated,

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but trust me, you can do it. The video promotes

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a limited edition Garden Tee Bloom Box, which retails for

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two hundred and fifty five dollars and includes flowers for

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arrangements along with herbal tea and honey products. The post

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also features brief appearances from her children, with Meghan Hurt

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speaking to Archie off camera asking are you having fun,

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my love, and interacting with her daughter Lilibert during the clip.

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Royal experts anticipate the video being mocked on social media.

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We'll be sure to let you know if that ha.

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And there you have it. If you'd like to email us,

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address is the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please

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follo us on Spotify, Apple or the Apple Choice. I'm

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Mark Francis my thanks to John McDermott. This is Palace

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Prince Harry’s “Mr Mischief” Messages Complicate His Privacy Case

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