Saying she had never partaken in anything “as scandalous and low” as phone hacking or other shocking measures to gain a story, O’Connell wrote on her lifestyle website Capsule, where she is an editorial director, that she was still a “cog in the machine”.
“I reprinted stories and quotes from British newspapers and magazines that, knowing what I know now, were untrue.”
Alice O'Connell, editorial director at Capsule and former New Zealand Women's Weekly editor.
She added that during her time as the popular magazine’s editor, she also commissioned stories to British writers and confessed the stories and some information they provided her was “in hindsight, likely very untrue”.
O’Connell and three other editors from former Bauer titles were the driving force behind Capsule weeks after the collapse of the company’s Kiwi magazine operation in April 2020, resulting in the redundancies of approximately 300 staff.
Speaking to the Herald, O’Connell explained her apology was, “long overdue, but I think enough time has passed for me to be able to have a clearer perspective on the role that I played in reporting on Prince Harry”.
She added that she has been finding it “increasingly frustrating” reading stories about the prince that are “inaccurate and unnecessarily mean or spiteful”.
“I have hoped other news organisations or journalists would reflect on the role they have played, and back up Harry in the claims he has long been making about the press, but realised that it’s something I needed to also do myself.”
She admitted “it was easy to lose perspective in the churn and stress of the job,” adding that her time as an editor was spent in an “unhealthy working environment” and believes it was “ultimately (and unfortunately)” reflected in the magazine.
“I didn’t reflect enough on what I was doing whilst I was in the role. It was a high-pressure, fast-paced job and the focus was always very much on how many copies your last issue had sold and how many the next would sell.”
When asked how she reacts to women’s magazines and headlines now, she says they appear to be “less reliant on the royal family, which can only be a good thing”.
Since publishing the open letter, the former magazine editor said the response has been positive.
Her letter referred to multiple examples of times her magazine had published negative or untrue stories, including the rift between Prince William, Princess Kate, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and more specifically, the story that Meghan reportedly made Kate cry before the Sussexes’ wedding in 2018.
O’Connell wrote that they published the story based on the information given to them by official sources, but she now knows that “the opposite scenario” took place. The information provided to the magazine by their sources was “telling a different version of events to protect their own royals” or could have been a deflection to bury other negative royal stories.
O’Connell also referenced the Sussexes’ Netflix documentary Harry and Meghan, which was released last year and featured a cover of the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly when the couple spoke about the negative stories written about them.
The cover was of Meghan posing for a Suits publicity shot along with the headline, ‘Meghan’s Shock Past. Is Harry heading for trouble?’. It’s something the former magazine editor signed off on. In light of its documentary feature, she received multiple media requests for comment on it.
The Woman's Weekly cover was featured in Harry and Meghan's Netflix documentary.
Admitting she was surprised it appeared because she believed there were worse headlines out there, she wrote, “I also felt ashamed. It was unnecessarily mean.”
While publishing stories that framed Harry and Meghan in a negative light were ones that “sold”, they weren’t in line with her initial intentions of being an editor that prided herself on selling a magazine that didn’t include salacious or overly gossipy stories, she said.
“But, I didn’t always get it right. Particularly not when Harry and his wife Meghan were concerned.”
O’Connell worked at the New Zealand Woman’s Weekly from 2014 to 2020. During her time with the magazine she worked as an assistant editor before being made editor in 2016.
In the letter she also recalled the time Harry visited New Zealand in 2014 and how she covered the trip for the Woman’s Weekly.
O’Connell said during the trip she was part of a media group – both local and international – and said she saw how “down-to-earth” Harry was asking the public to call him by his first name instead of HRH. She also said it was obvious during that trip that Harry despised the media.
Britain's Prince Harry, receives a hongi, a traditional Maori welcome by Sir Jerry Mateparae, the then Governor-General of New Zealand in 2014. Photo / AP
O’Connell said the international media - which included The Sun and The Daily Mail – were a “grumpy pack” and were demanding with the prince who refused to pander to them.
She continued to say that it appeared as though Harry was “paraded out like a circus animal to perform” and it was “insane” that he was scolded when he didn’t provide the media with a good enough performance.
For celebrities, O’Connell said the media scrutiny is the price they pay but stated Harry as a born Royal family member, had no choice in the matter.
Ultimately, the former magazine editor said her time chasing stories about who Harry’s next girlfriend would be and how the rest of the family would react was a “waste of time.”
“Harry deserved better. His wife deserves better. They still deserve better. And for my part, to him and Meghan, I really am sorry.”
