Women's magazine editor posts public apology to Prince Harry: 'I stopped seeing him as a human being'

A women's magazine editor has issued a public apology to Prince Harry for her coverage of him and Meghan, saying she feels "nothing but shame and anger" at how she covered the royal couple.

Alice O'Connell was editor at New Zealand Women's Weekly for four years.

"I stopped seeing him as a human being," she wrote in an article for Capsule NZ that described the time she spent working at the publication from 2016 onwards, saying royal stories were the "backbone" of their coverage.

"Nearly every week that I worked there, [the royals] were either the main cover, or a large drop-in. They were that popular," O'Connell wrote. "But, I didn’t always get it right. Particularly not when Harry and his wife Meghan were concerned."

Her apology comes with Harry in the middle of an ongoing trial against Mirror Group Newspaper (MGN) over allegations of unlawful information gathering, which includes phone-hacking and using private investigators to 'blag' confidential information.

O'Connell said that following the details of Harry's trial against MGN had made her feel "shame".

Two stories in particular, one regarding the 'rift' between the Sussexes and Kate and William and another about Meghan supposedly making Kate cry over a bridesmaid dress fitting, stood out to O'Connell.

While O'Connell made clear she never commissioned articles that were the product of unlawful practices at New Zealand Women's Weekly, she nonetheless "reprinted stories and quotes from British newspapers and magazines that, knowing what I know now, were untrue".

"I published some stories that were unfair and incredibly one-sided – and can now see were from sources who weren’t telling the truth. My biggest mistake though, was that I stopped seeing Harry as a human being.

"Kindness is something I’ve prided myself on for a long time. The Weekly was always seen as the 'kinder' magazine in its peer group (it was up against the likes of Woman’s Day, New Idea and NW) and when I got the job as editor it was something I was determined to carve out even further.

"I was determined there’d be no salacious and overly gossipy stories and it would instead focus on the good, particularly when it came to everyday hard-working Kiwis.

"But, on reflection, it wasn’t all that kind. I wasn’t kind. I wasn’t kind to Prince Harry, and I certainly wasn’t kind to his wife, Meghan Markle."

Harry's evidence in his trial against MGN took place over two days, during which he explained that his romantic relationships and friendships were affected by press intrusion and the other impacts it has had on his mental health — at the end of his evidence, when his barrister David Sherborne asked him how it felt to discuss these matters in court, he choked up and replied "it's a lot".

MGN have admitted one article from 2004 about Prince Harry was the product of UIG, and they have "unreservedly" apologised for its publication.

However they have denied the articles in his claim were sourced unlawfully and even pointed the finger and at the Royal Family's staff as being the origin of some stories about Harry.

Harry discussed the impact untrue stories written about him in his memoir Spare, describing one as making him feel "sickened, horrified. I imagined everyone, all my countrymen and countrywomen, reading these things, believing them. I could hear people all across the Commonwealth gossiping about me."

Yahoo News has approached New Zealand Women's Weekly for comment.