Prince Harry accused a tabloid newspaper publisher of wiretapping “on an industrial scale” at the end of nearly eight hours of testimony on Wednesday, making him the first British royal family to take the witness stand in more than a century.
King Charles III’s youngest son made no secret of his emotions as he reached the end of his two-day trial at London’s High Court, where Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which publishes The Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, has been tried since May 10.
“It is too much”, the 38-year-old prince replied in a barely audible voice after being asked by his own lawyer, David Sherborne, how it felt to relive disturbing episodes from his life in court.
Harry and several other plaintiffs allege that the newspapers engaged in a “illegal information gathering”including intercepting voicemail messages to write dozens of stories about him.
“I believe there is industrial-scale tapping in at least three of its (MGN) papers, that is beyond dispute”said Harry, under cross-examination by MGN attorney Andrew Green.
When asked why he specifically targeted MGN, Harry said he believed the alleged hacking happened elsewhere on a smaller scale and that it “started with the Mirror group”.
He also revealed that part of the motivation for the lawsuit was a desire to do something about the “hate that has befallen me and my wife” in recent years.
Other lawsuits
The last time a member of the royal family testified in court was in the 1890s, when the then-future King Edward VII testified in a libel suit.
Harry, fifth in line to the throne, has rarely been far from the headlines since he left royal life in 2020 and moved to California with his American wife Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex, as he is also known, has taken legal action against several tabloids, in addition to a series of attacks targeting his family and the monarchy.
In a rarity for a British royal family that normally stays out of politics, the prince also lashed out at the government during the proceedings of this court hearing.
In a lengthy written testimony, the prince claimed that the media interference had ruined his life and that the state of the press and government was at “rock bottom”.
On the witness stand, Harry argued that he had been a victim of ruthless and harrowing media interference for most of his life.
“Some media outlets have blood on their hands,” he argued, adding that the stories written about him had made him paranoid and suspicious of friendships and relationships. When the wiretapping revelations came to light, “it all made sense,” he said in court.
Harry described being surrounded by the media during a trip to Argentina when “very aggressive paparazzi” surrounded the farm where he was staying and local police said the only way to get rid of them was to pay them.
According to the deputy sheriff, it became clear that it would be difficult to leave without “being persecuted by these individuals”.
land of speculation
MGN admitted to having “some clues” of illegal intelligence gathering, including for an article about Harry. But he denied intercepting the voicemail and also argued that some of the complaints were submitted too late by Harry and the other complainants.
In court, the prince was asked about various aspects of the 33 tabloid stories under scrutiny, ranging from ex-girlfriends and rumors that army officer James Hewitt was his father, to royal family connections.
Harry admitted he couldn’t remember reading most of the articles, which dated back to the past 20 years.
He has long had a turbulent relationship with the press and holds the media responsible for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a 1997 car accident in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi.
Allegations that tabloid journalists had hacked into celebrities’ cell phones first surfaced 20 years ago and led to a public inquiry.
The report concluded that British newspapers were “devastating the lives of innocent people” and led to the closure in 2011 of the UK’s best-selling newspaper, News of the World, owned by Rupert Murdoch.
Source: DN
