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Prince Harry appeared in London’s High Court on Monday against the publisher of the Daily Mail over allegations of phone hacking, wiretapping and illegal information-gathering practices dating back several years.
The Duke of Sussex and six other British celebrities sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) in October 2022. After several years, the case has finally gone to trial, and Prince Harry, 41, is expected to give evidence on Thursday.
The showdown is the third major legal battle the duke has launched against a British tabloid in recent years.
Now let’s remember this incident and how we got here.
The plaintiffs accused ANL, which publishes magazines such as the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, of engaging in various types of criminal activity between 1993 and 2011 to obtain information about individuals within the group.
The group alleges that the illegal intelligence-gathering practices included hiring private investigators to place listening devices in homes and cars and record private phone calls. The company also denied allegations that it paid corrupt law enforcement officials to obtain confidential information, used impersonation and deception to obtain medical records, and accessed bank accounts and financial transactions through “illicit means and operations.”
ANL has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, calling the accusations “ridiculous” and “absolutely ridiculous.”
The stakes are high for both sides, with reputations at stake and legal costs estimated at around £40 million ($53.5 million).
David Sherborne, the lead plaintiff, said in his opening statement on Monday: “We intend to demonstrate at trial that there was a clear, systematic and ongoing unlawful reporting process at both the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday.”
He said ANL’s denials of wrongdoing were “not true” and “knew there were skeletons in the closet”.
“There is compelling evidence (albeit limited by the extensive loss of related documents) of Associated’s illegal intelligence-gathering activities (and the illegal articles published as a result),” Sherborn said in a written submission to the court.
He added: “There is little doubt that journalists and executives of all titles at the Mail were involved in, or were complicit in, the culture of illegal intelligence gathering that has destroyed so many people’s lives.”
In a written submission to ANL, Anthony White KC said there was “no basis for the allegations against the associate”.
He added that the group “has never been able to prove that any phone hacking or wiretapping, the most serious category of Unlawful Information Gathering (UIG) charges, took place at Associated, and the robbery charges under the order have been quashed by the court.”
“The claim that these practices are ‘habitual and widespread’ under the Associated title is completely false,” he continued. White also reiterated that the complaint was brought too late.
The challenge from King Charles’ second son is a joint effort with six other notable figures, including Elton John and his husband David Furnish, and actress Elizabeth Hurley.
Several members of the plaintiff group are expected to give evidence over the next nine weeks, including campaigner Doreen Lawrence, actress Sadie Frost and former politician Simon Hughes.
Prince Harry is scheduled to give evidence on Thursday, according to the draft trial schedule. This is the second time he has appeared on the witness stand. He previously became the first senior British monarch in more than 130 years to testify on the witness stand in a separate case in 2023.
He has no plans to make any other formal public appearances.
In his written submissions, Mr Sherborne’s barrister said the duke’s claims were based on 14 articles, written mainly by two journalists between 2001 and 2013, which caused the royal family “significant distress” and were not “in the public interest”.
Mr Sherborne continued in his submission: “It is clear from the articles and evidence relating to the Duke of Sussex that targeting him has had an extremely devastating effect.”
The duke’s defense team went on to quote the duke as saying that “the Mail” was “uncomfortable to feel that my every move, thought and feeling was being tracked and monitored” just to make money, and that “the intrusion was frightening” for loved ones, causing “huge tension” in personal relationships, while also unwittingly “creating mistrust and suspicion” and “making me incredibly paranoid and isolated.”
Prince Harry appeared to be in good spirits as he sat at the back of the packed courtroom, exchanging smiles with members of his defense team. Hurley and his son Damien, Frost and Hughes were also in attendance.
Specific to the Duke’s allegations, ANL’s written submission “strongly denies” the interception of voicemails or any other form of unauthorized collection of information, and says the Duke’s social circle is “known to be a popular source of leaks and disclosures to the media about what the Duke does in his private life.”
Yes, it’s safe to say that Prince Harry is known to have a rocky relationship with the British tabloids, having filed lawsuits against some of the UK’s biggest media groups over the years.
Prince Harry has said that Britain’s “toxic” press was one of the reasons he and his wife Meghan Markle decided to step back from royal duties and move to the United States.
Damian Tambini, an expert on media and communications regulation and policy at the London School of Economics, said the fact that the duke had repeatedly traveled to London to pursue the case showed the prime minister’s determination to change industry practices.
“This is clearly a priority for personal reasons. You might infer that this goes back to how his mother was treated in British newspapers,” he told Reuters. “He appears to be motivated by things other than money and has shown that he is not really interested in simply having his losses compensated… In fact, he, along with many of his other accusers, is trying to bring about change at the newspaper.”
In previous battles with tabloids, Prince Harry successfully launched a legal challenge against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which have since received apologies and admissions of wrongdoing and damages.
However, ANL is untroubled by the phone hacking scandal that has blanketed British media for more than a decade.
In 2011, accusations that journalists were routinely hacking the cellphones of politicians, celebrities, and other public figures shocked the country. The scandal forced the closure of the News of the World, Britain’s top-selling newspaper at the time, and led to a wide-ranging public inquiry into reporting standards.
“Until now, compared to other newspapers in the market, the company (Daily Mail) has largely escaped the worst accusations of phone hacking, privacy violations and widespread violations of media ethics and the law. But this trial, driven by some very determined whistleblowers, could potentially breach the dam,” Tambini said.
Not all of the Duke’s lawsuits focus on media intrusion. Last year, Prince Harry lost a challenge to the Home Office over the lifting of the taxpayer-funded security system after he retired from royal duties. However, according to multiple British media outlets, the government has since launched a new review of the duke’s security access during his visit to Japan.
When was the last time Harry visited England and will he meet King Charles?
Prince Harry returned to the UK in the autumn and reunited with his father, King Charles, for the first time in 19 months, sharing afternoon tea at Clarence House. The duke later described his father as “great” when he attended a reception for the Invictus Games Foundation. The two are reportedly currently in regular contact.
Prince Charles is expected to stay in Scotland, where he traditionally resides after Christmas, as the trial begins in London early this week. The Telegraph reported that the king did not want to get involved in any court proceedings and kept his distance during the visit.
Prince William and Duchess Kate’s diary also notes that they will head to Scotland on Tuesday to take part in activities with Team GB and the Paralympic GB curling team ahead of next month’s Winter Games and Paralympic Games.
