Prince Harry appeared at the High Court to prove that reporters from Mirror Group Newspapers illegally obtained information when publishing stories about him. During the hearing, the Duke of Sussex was questioned by MGN lawyer Andrew Green KC about an article that reported on a thumb injury he had suffered. Prince Harry was asked if he thinks the information for the story came from phone hacking or unlawful information gathering. The Duke responded by saying, “Both.” He was then pressed on which phone would have been intercepted, but he said he “can’t be sure.” Mr Green then asked if they were “in the realms of total speculation.”
The Duke confirmed that he would not necessarily have seen the contents of each article that makes up his case but said that “as a child, every single one of these articles played an important role, a destructive role in my growing up.” He added that “more than thousands, maybe millions of articles have been written about me since age 12.” Prince Harry also revealed that “stories which I’ve only shared with one or two people in my inner circle end up on the front page of a newspaper, or any page, your circle of friends starts to shrink and diminish rather rapidly.”
Phone hacking allegations and distress caused
Prince Harry alleged that photographers trying to find him on holiday in Noosa, Australia, would have faced a “needle in haystack” situation, as he claimed his whereabouts would have been found out through unlawful activity. Harry then told Mr Green it would be better for him to speak to the journalist who wrote the article rather than him. However, Mr Green replied, “I am here to cross-examine you, I am afraid that’s the way this works, Prince Harry.”
The Duke of Sussex told the court it is “deeply disturbing” that looking for him was “regarded as a hunt.” He added that “a lot of false information was put in these articles to throw people like myself off the scent.” Reports of a pub lunch with friends “caused him distress” because he was hoping to have a private birthday gathering “and somehow a photographer found me.” When Mr Green asked him twice what was so distressing about it, the Duke said, “The level of detail, about myself, the relationship between myself and my girlfriend, my travel plans being broadcast to a huge audience.”
Prince Harry appeared in court to prove that reporters from Mirror Group Newspapers had illegally obtained information when publishing stories about him. During the hearing, the Duke alleged that his private information was obtained through phone hacking or unlawful means. He claimed that the publication of such stories had played a destructive role in his growing up and that false information had been put in these articles to throw people off his scent. The Duke also revealed that his circle of friends had diminished due to the publication of such stories.
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