James Murdoch, the son of Rupert Murdoch and a longtime ally of Prince Harry in his legal and public campaign against British tabloid newspapers, is stepping down from his prominent role at Lupa Systems, the investment company through which he has backed various media and technology ventures, per Fox News’s confirmed reporting published today. Royal experts told Fox News that while Murdoch is stepping back from public-facing roles, he may remain what one expert described as “a voice in the king’s ear,” suggesting his influence on Harry’s strategic thinking and legal campaigns may continue in a quieter form than his previous public alignment.
The relationship between James Murdoch and Prince Harry is one of the more unusual alliances in the British media and royal landscape. Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, which publishes The Sun and formerly published the News of the World, was the central defendant in the phone hacking lawsuits that Harry pursued with a determination that no other senior royal matched. Harry won a landmark settlement from NGN in January 2023, in which the company admitted unlawful activities by private investigators hired by its newspapers and apologized. The settlement was described as historic because NGN had fought phone hacking claims for more than a decade. Harry’s willingness to go to trial rather than settle on terms he found inadequate was the pressure that produced the admission.
James Murdoch is Rupert’s estranged son, who broke publicly with his father and with News Corp over what he described as the company’s handling of the phone hacking scandal and its editorial positions on climate change and political issues. He resigned from News Corp’s board in 2020. His estrangement from his father’s media empire positioned him as someone who could be sympathetic to Harry’s anti-tabloid campaign rather than opposed to it, despite the Murdoch name being the most prominent in British tabloid history. Harry and James Murdoch developed a relationship that was described by royal commentators as strategically significant, because Murdoch’s knowledge of how News Corp’s papers operated gave him insight that was useful to Harry’s legal team.
The Sussexes’ legal campaign against British newspapers has been one of the most sustained and expensive legal undertakings by a member of the Royal Family in modern history. Harry and Meghan together have pursued cases against NGN, Associated Newspapers (which publishes the Daily Mail), and other outlets. Harry’s NGN settlement was followed by continued litigation against Associated Newspapers, whose legal costs the High Court ordered Harry to pay after his case was largely dismissed by Justice Nicklin in a 436-page judgment that rejected every claim. The costs order has not yet been quantified but is expected to be substantial.
The Harry situation from the Royal Family’s perspective involves several moving parts that are all in motion simultaneously. Harry met with Charles at Highgrove in July. He left the UK without visiting Balmoral. He is described by GB News sources as planning more trips. The Royal Family’s official communications position is that they do not comment on private family interactions. The unofficial communications position, expressed through royal commentators who are briefed by palace-adjacent sources, is that the relationship is slowly improving while remaining far short of a full reconciliation.
James Murdoch’s step back from public roles does not change the legal landscape directly. Harry’s ongoing litigation proceeds through the courts regardless of what Murdoch’s advisory role is. The legal campaigns have their own momentum, their own legal teams, and their own timelines. What Murdoch’s public role has provided is a kind of legitimizing association: someone with deep knowledge of British tabloid operations who is publicly aligned with Harry’s campaign provides credibility to the argument that the campaign is not simply a royal vendetta against coverage he didn’t like but a genuine effort to hold a specific kind of illegal conduct accountable.
Murdoch is stepping back. Harry’s campaign continues. The Balmoral invitation has not arrived.
When Harry’s most prominent media ally steps back from public roles and experts say he may stay influential quietly, what exactly is the anti-tabloid campaign’s next chapter?
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