Prince Harry on Tuesday provided testimony at the High Court in London as part of his legal case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), the publisher of British tabloids the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People.
The prince alleges that the publisher engaged in phone hacking and other illegal activities. MGN has previously acknowledged its involvement in phone-hacking but has claimed that there is no evidence to suggest that Prince Harry was a target of such actions.
The following are excerpts and key moments from the courtroom where Prince Harry is scheduled to undergo extensive cross-examination in the witness box on Tuesday and Wednesday:
STATE OF PRESS AND GOVERNMENT AT ROCK BOTTOM
“In terms of our nation’s reputation on a global scale, the current state of our press and government is extremely concerning. In my view, both entities have reached rock bottom,” expressed Harry in a prepared statement presented as a witness.
He further emphasized the crucial role of a free and responsible press in upholding democracy, asserting that when the press fails to scrutinize and hold the government accountable but instead aligns itself with them to maintain the status quo, it undermines the principles of democracy.
‘UTTERLY VILE’ BEHAVIOUR
“In my personal experience as a member of the Royal Family, the tabloid press has a tendency to assign specific roles to each of us,” stated Harry in his written statement.
He further described a harmful cycle in which the tabloids would persistently attempt to manipulate him, as a vulnerable and “damaged” young man, into engaging in actions that would generate sensational stories and boost newspaper sales. Reflecting on those experiences, he denounced such behavior from the tabloids as deeply repugnant.
PALACE REACTION
When questioned about why Buckingham Palace had not lodged a complaint with the press complaints watchdog regarding false stories, Harry responded, “That would essentially require us to lodge a complaint almost every day, my lord.”
DRUG USE
When questioned about the potential hacking of voicemails related to a story about his father’s alleged drug use, Harry acknowledged that it could be considered “potentially unlawful information gathering.” MGN’s lawyer, Andrew Green, suggested that Harry’s private information was sometimes shared with the press with the consent of the palace or individuals within it, to which Harry responded, “Yes, from certain individuals.”
JAMES HEWITT
Harry expressed his dismay and described the rumours about his paternity, suggesting that Major James Hewitt was his real father, as “hurtful, mean, and cruel.” In his witness statement, he questioned the motives behind such stories and pondered whether the newspapers aimed to sow doubt in the minds of the public with the intention of potentially removing him from the Royal Family.
PAUL BURRELL
Harry acknowledged a specific story that reported him using derogatory language about Paul Burrell, his mother’s former butler. He clarified that the terminology used in the story was something he had indeed used when describing Mr. Burrell. Harry further suggested that the content of the story may have been lifted directly from a voicemail message he had left, indicating a potential breach of privacy.
LIFE WASTED ON PARANOIA
In his written witness statement, Harry expressed his realization of the actions and methods employed by MGN’s journalists, which has led him to understand the extent to which he wasted his life consumed by paranoia. He acknowledged that there has been a common perception of his mother, Princess Diana, as being paranoid, but he now recognizes that her concerns were justified and that he experienced similar fears due to the actual events taking place around him.
‘TOTAL SPECULATION’
Green challenged Harry’s assertion that an article about him breaking his thumb during his teenage years was a result of phone hacking or other unlawful means, suggesting that it was purely speculative and lacked factual basis.
BLOOD ON THEIR HANDS?
Harry was questioned about a passage in his statement regarding the press, where he expressed concern over the potential harm caused by their actions. In response to whether the MGN journalists involved in his lawsuit had “blood on their hands,” he acknowledged that certain editors and journalists, responsible for causing distress and, in some instances, possibly unintentionally contributing to tragedies, bear some responsibility.
GIRLFRIENDS
“In no instance did I form a romantic relationship or have a girlfriend without the tabloids becoming involved and attempting to destroy it through any illicit methods available to them,” Harry stated in his written witness statement.
ON PIERS MORGAN
“The mere idea of Piers Morgan and his team of journalists intruding into my mother’s private and delicate messages (similar to what they have done to me), and causing her distress just three months before her tragic death in Paris, fills me with profound disgust,” Harry expressed.
Morgan, the former editor of the Mirror and now a well-known broadcaster, has refuted any participation in illicit activities.
