JAN MOIR: Harry’s war against the press is only going to hurt his father ahead of his Coronation

What is given to his Pa to mark the monumental occasion of his ceremonial ascension?

A sacred moment that he has been preparing for all his life? A pair of socks or a box of chocolate milk is not enough on these days. Something in a silver frame? Seems a bit bland.

So you should give Prince Harry a ribbon of tattered honor for handing King Charles a coronation gift he’ll never forget. Or maybe forgive.

How could he? Just over a week before the coronation, which will be broadcast around the world to a television audience of millions, Harry has opened another seam in his obsessive war of grievance against the British press.

He is suing News Group Newspapers for alleged historical illegal information gathering, one of three major cases brought, including one against this newspaper group.

At a time when Charles and Camilla need it least, he has dragged the embarrassing memory of Tampongate back into the public arena and also suggested that Prince William settle with NGN.

That is entirely his right, but it is the monarchy, more than anything else, that his actions do the most damage.

Boom, boom, boom goes the ammunition from Harry’s cannons of wrath, straight through the castle walls and into the inner sanctum, imploding whatever remains of the family’s peace before the big day.

At a time when Charles and Camilla need it least, he has dragged the embarrassing memory of Tampongate back into the public arena and also suggested that Prince William agree a settlement with NGN.

As a conspirator high on his beloved ayahuasca and the rich fumes of hubris, the Duke of Sussex alleged in court this week that there is a secret pact between senior members of the royal family and newspaper bosses.

This seems to be news to absolutely everyone except Harry, although he gave few details that would support such an idea.

Not for the first time it occurred to me that just because Harry passionately believes something doesn’t necessarily mean it’s true.

When you read his 31-page statement to the court, you understand – as fantastic as it may seem – that Harry does not see himself as possessed, but as a knight in shining armour; the great savior, not only of himself and his family, but also of the government, the media industry, the people of this great country, the country itself and indeed the very concept of democracy.

The Duke of Sussex claimed in court this week that there is a secret pact between senior members of the royal family and newspaper bosses

“Our country is judged globally by the state of our press and our government – ​​both of whose reputations I think are currently at an all-time low,” sighs this great international statesman, conveniently forgetting that no one has done more than he to the image harm this country. around the world. First, by claiming it was a racist corner from which he and his apparently victimized wife were so desperate to escape.

The statement makes it clear that Harry believes the Royal Family are a bunch of gullible fools who are being swindled by evil media they don’t understand, when only he and he alone is wise enough to put on his Goggles of Perception and see the real truth.

It’s almost embarrassing! Everyone likes to swim in their own sea of ​​pet delusions, God knows I take a beating myself now and then, but Harry is drowning in a gooey pool of pure fantasy.

He blames the tabloid newspapers for everything bad in his life, including his teenage drug use, his drinking, his failed exams, and even his penchant for playing naked billiards in Las Vegas.

Why? Because he felt he had to “catch up” to the headlines and stereotypes that “they wanted to put up about me.”

Meanwhile, it’s been three years since Megxit – and how interesting that we can now see the real Prince Harry in all his glory

He claims that ‘the tabloids were constantly trying to persuade me, a ‘damaged’ young man, to do something stupid that would make a good story’.

What? Everything is everyone’s fault, which takes the concept of willful irresponsibility to a whole new level of victimization.

I’m not disputing that Prince Harry has had some rough times, but there comes a point in life when you have to stop blaming others and take responsibility for yourself. It’s mind-boggling that this 38-year-old ex-soldier and father of two has yet to reach that level of maturity.

He is the rotten apple that will not ripen, for in its core the black seed of eternal irritability blooms.

The courts will decide whether his case is well founded. Meanwhile, it’s been three years since Megxit – and how interesting that we can now see the real Prince Harry in all his glory. What a meaningless face that is.

Since escaping the numbing clutches of the royal family – or “the institution,” as he insists – Harry is free to be his own man. Free from the mending, wise hands of courtiers and private secretaries who may have saved him from himself more times than he ever understood.

We learned this week that Harry believes his long-held concerns about newspapers have been brushed aside by courtiers determined on a long-term strategy to “pave the way for my stepmother (and father) to be accepted by the British public as a queen consort. (and King respectively) when the time came’.

Who can know if that’s true or not, but if it were, wouldn’t it make perfect sense? Doesn’t it suggest the kind of compromise and pragmatism that any thriving dynasty or successful company needs to survive?

It all seems to indicate that when he was still a working member of the royal family, Harry – and later Harry and his wife – could never accept that he wasn’t the most important cookie in the tin. Nor that his wants and needs sometimes had to be sacrificed for the common good.

This is again one of the more difficult life lessons to learn, but it is one that millions of us have to learn to deal with at home, at work and in relationships.

Because you know what? It’s not always about you. Things don’t always go your way, but that’s no reason to throw your family under the bus on the highway for your higher moral purpose.