Prince Harry reportedly called the journalist “sugar” and mentioned their “cuddles at the movies” in a series of flirtatious Facebook messages from more than a decade ago.
The surprising passage resurfaced on Tuesday at the final hearing of the Duke of Sussex’s lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, according to Newsweek.
The resurfaced messages, which were exchanged between December 2011 and January 2012, show Prince Harry exchanging text messages with then-Mail on Sunday reporter Charlotte Griffiths.
The royal rebel, now 41, wrote in a message dated December 4, 2011: “If you’re confusing the name and photo, it’s H!!! It’s X.”
Mr Griffiths, now 40, replied: “What a fun and naughty weekend. Can’t we all do naughty things in the country every week?? Smooches.”
Prince Harry, who Mr Griffiths called “Mr Prankster” in the message, went on to explain how he “earned that title” before complaining that he “has to make polite conversations with strangers at dinner parties” while “asking for money for charity”.
A month later, on January 22, 2012, a journalist called Harry a “h-bomb” and wrote: “I went to Arthur’s house last week and I missed him so much.”
In a resurfaced message, the duke sadly replied: “I wish I had some sugar, but unfortunately I should have stayed in Cornwall on army business.” “Otherwise I would have played under the table there and then drank you, obviously!!”
He continued, “I wish I could have been there…especially with you there! Are you working?!…I really hope you’re okay, Griff…miss the movie snuggles!! I might be rude, but I won’t be hearing from you all week, so please let me know, xxx xxx xxx.”
Prince Harry and Griffith’s flirtatious Facebook messages were reportedly exchanged after the prince dated Chelsy Davy but before he dated Cressida Bonas.
Prince Harry dated Davy, 40, from 2004 until shortly after Prince William and Duchess Kate’s wedding in April 2011, and then dated actress and model Cressida Bonas, 37, for two years from May 2012 to April 2014.
Two years after splitting from Bonas, Prince Harry met Meghan on a blind date in July 2016, and they married in May 2018.
Representatives for the Sussexes did not immediately respond to Page Six’s request for comment.
Harry filed a lawsuit against the Associated Press in October 2022. The publishing giant was accused of violating privacy by collecting illegal information through illegal activities such as phone hacking and wiretapping between 1993 and 2011.
The royal family insisted that the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday could not have obtained the information through legal means, but The Associated newspaper reportedly suggested that the source was within the royal family’s circle of friends.
One of those sources is reportedly Mr Griffiths, who was deputy diary editor at the Mail on Sunday before becoming editor-in-chief of the paper.
“We had known each other for a while as we were all the same age and used to go to the same places in London at night,” Ms Griffiths wrote in her witness statement.
He added: “My friends, including the group who introduced me to Prince Harry, knew that I was a journalist and had gone to work for Katie Nicholl at the Mail on Sunday.”
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, the trial between Mr Harry and Associated Newspapers concluded. The judge overseeing the case has not yet announced a verdict.
