Prince William Branded Prince Harry as an 'Accident Waiting to Happen' After a Tabloid Reported on His Party Boy Tendencies

It seems as though Prince William and Prince Harry's rivalry began years before Spare was published. In the Duke of Sussex's court case against the Mirror Group, the royal used the publisher's 2002 article about his alleged substance abuse as evidence in court.

"In the same newspaper on the same day, a further article by [reporters] Jane Kerr and Jeff Edwards purported to quote Prince William saying to his brother: 'This serves you right. You have been partying far too hard and too recklessly to not eventually be caught. You've been an accident waiting to happen. Let this be a lesson to you,'" the Friday, December 15, judgment read.

In January of 2002, News of the World ran a front-page exclusive reporting that the then teenage Harry was smoking cannabis, leading to an "investigation at breakneck speed" at the Sunday Mirror and Daily Mirror.

"Ms. Kerr was unable to explain where this quotation came from, except that it was not through anything that she had done, but she felt sure there would be a legitimate source," the blurb continued.

The court documents later blamed Kerr's superiors for the assertions.

"Ms. Kerr, who said that she was not involved in phone hacking and would never have made up information, herself suggested that others, such as the editor, Piers Morgan, might have contributed, "to the stories the Mirror ran at the time," Judge Timothy Fancourt said. "It is clear that someone did."

Harry discussed the early aughts scandal in his memoir, Spare.

"I phoned Willy. I couldn't speak. He couldn't either. He was sympathetic, and more," the duke penned.

"At moments he was even angrier about the whole thing than I was, because he was privy to more details about the spin doctor and the backroom dealings that had led to this public sacrifice of the Spare [Harry]," he added.

OK! previously reported Fancourt ruled in Harry's favor and said the Mirror Group was guilty of wiretapping.

"Today is a great day for truth as well as accountability," Harry said in a statement.

"I'd like to thank my legal team for so successfully dismantling the sworn testimony of Mirror Group Newspaper's senior executives, legal department and journalists who at least turned up to Court, unlike their colleagues, who were perhaps too afraid to do so," he stated.

Harry's lawsuit against the conglomerate began in 2019, and it took half a decade before the High Court reached a verdict.

"The journey to justice can be a slow and painful one, and since bringing my claim almost five years ago, defamatory stories and intimidating tactics have been deployed against me and at my family's expense," the Duke of Sussex continued.

"And so, as I too have learned through this process, patience is, in fact, a virtue – especially in the face of vendetta journalism," he added.

The famous redhead later implied that his fight against the British tabloid industry wasn't over.

"Today's ruling is vindicating and affirming," Harry concluded. "I've been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today's victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press – it's a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues."

Excerpts from court rulings were published by Newsweek.