Prince Harry appears on the verge of tears: “Press have made my wife’s life an absolute misery”
Michael Savage
A poignant moment in court as Prince Harry breaks down and appears on the verge of tears, as he says his treatment has “only got worse” from Associated since his litigation began.
His voice cracks as he says: “They continue to come after me. They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my lord.”
Closing summary
The trial has been adjourned to 10.30am on Thursday after the Duke of Sussex finished giving evidence at the High Court into his legal claim against Associated Newspapers Limited.
Barrister David Sherborne, for the group of high-profile figures suing the publisher, said they were “not in a position to have anyone else ready” to give evidence on Wednesday.
Here is a summary of the day’s events:
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Prince Harry has insisted he did not have a “leaky” social circle that gave stories about him to journalists at the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, as he told the high court the publisher of the titles had “an obsession” with surveilling him.
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Giving evidence in the high court against Associated Newspapers Led (ANL), the Duke of Sussex rejected the publisher’s claims that its journalists had secured information about him from his friends and acquaintances, rather than through unlawful means.
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Prince Harry broke down and appeared to be on the verge of tears as he said his treatment has “only got worse” from Associated since his litigation began. His voice cracked as he said: “They continue to come after me. They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my lord.”
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Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), asked the Duke of Sussex about phone conversations he had with Rebecca English, now royal editor at the Daily Mail, during which he allegedly thanked her. Harry said he had no recollection of the calls, but that journalists were people who “we were forced to work with, we had to have some kind of relationship with them”.
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Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited, claimed while cross-examining the Duke of Sussex that Harry used a Facebook profile named ‘Mr Mischief’ to contact a Mail On Sunday journalist. White was asking Harry whether he had met Charlotte Griffiths, who the barrister claimed moved in the duke’s “social circles”.
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Harry said he had “never used the name Mr Mischief”, and that he had “no idea” if he had exchanged messages with Griffiths on Facebook.
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The Duke of Sussex said in his written evidence that he was “really worried something bad was going to happen” when he was in a relationship with Chelsy Davy. Describing a surprise visit to Argentina by Davy, Harry said in his written evidence that he “suspected someone had been paid to reveal our plans”.
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The Duke of Sussex has claimed it was “beyond cruel” to publish an article about “confidential discussions” he had after a photo of a dying Diana, Princess of Wales was published in the Italian press. In his written evidence, Harry described an article published in the Daily Mail in July 2006 as “really disgusting”, saying he was having private discussions with his brother, the now-Prince of Wales.
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The Duke of Sussex said that he did not question denials of phone hacking made by Paul Dacre at the Leveson Inquiry “out of fear of retaliation”.
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In his 23-page witness statement, Harry said that when he brought legal action against two other newspaper publishers, he had “no idea” that he had a claim against ANL. He continued: “As I am sure is clear, if I had known earlier then I would have acted, particularly given ANL’s treatment of Meghan and her claim against it.”
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In response to a source close to the Duke of Sussex’s claim, who said Associated Newspapers Limited had used “game playing and dirty tricks” to bring forward Harry’s evidence, an Associated Newspapers spokesperson said: “Prince Harry has been in London since the weekend ready to give evidence in this case, which he launched three and half years ago. We don’t intend to dignify this briefing by the other side with any further comment.”
Read our full report on today’s evidence in court here:
Prince Harry appears on the verge of tears: “Press have made my wife’s life an absolute misery”
Michael Savage
A poignant moment in court as Prince Harry breaks down and appears on the verge of tears, as he says his treatment has “only got worse” from Associated since his litigation began.
His voice cracks as he says: “They continue to come after me. They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my lord.”
Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited, has finished questioning the Duke of Sussex in cross-examination.
David Sherborne, for Harry and the six others bringing legal action against the Daily Mail publisher, is now asking the duke questions in his re-examination.
The Duke of Sussex said he only learnt of the campaign group Hacked Off “in the last four or five years”.
Replying to questions by Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited, Harry said: “I happen to think they do fantastic work, Mr White.”
White replied: “I am pleased to hear it.”
The barrister also said that if Harry wanted to inquire about the 14 articles complained of in the case, “an obvious inquiry or port of inquiry would have been Hacked Off to see what support they could give you”.
Harry replied that he didn’t think “that would have been acceptable or even an option” due to being part of the royal family.
The Duke of Sussex has returned to the witness box as the trial of his legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) resumed after the lunch adjournment, PA reports.
We will continue to bring you all the latest news lines. Stay tuned.
Harry: I didn’t dare question denials of phone hacking ‘out of fear of retaliation’
The Duke of Sussex has said that he did not question denials of phone hacking made by Paul Dacre at the Leveson Inquiry “out of fear of retaliation”.
In his witness statement, Harry said:
I do not see why Associated should get away with something they have covered up and lied about for however many years.
I simply do not understand how I could have discovered that I had these claims against Associated for the unlawful acts I am claiming about any earlier than I did, especially as current senior figures at Associated lied all those years ago, which everyone believed.
I remember Paul Dacre, in particular, clearly stating that phone hacking had not taken place at Associated.
By going on the offensive, rather than the defensive, they had me so convinced that I didn’t even think twice about it, nor did I dare question Paul Dacre out of fear of retaliation.
The advantage they had was that their approach appeared more belligerent than the rest; ‘if you dare take us on, we will destroy your life’ kind of approach. I don’t think it left anyone with any other option other than to believe Associated and accept they must be telling the truth.
In his written evidence, the Duke of Sussex said that the “bubble burst” after he stepped down as a working senior royal in 2020 and moved to North America.
Describing claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Sun and the now defunct News Of The World, Harry said:
It was only really within the past few years that I found out that other individuals within or associated with the Institution, such as my friend Marko, had brought phone hacking claims against NGN.
It is not an exaggeration to say that the bubble burst in terms of what I knew in 2020 when I moved out of the United Kingdom.
To this day, there are members of the royal family and friends of mine who may have been targeted by NGN and I have no idea whether they have or have not brought claims.
Harry ‘determined’ to hold publisher accountable
Michael Savage
“I am determined to hold Associated accountable, for everyone’s sake,” Harry’s written submission states.
The Duke of Sussex added:
I am therefore committed to pursuing this claim because I believe it is in the public’s interest.
If the defendant, the owner of various national newspapers, including the Daily Mail which, by its own definition, is the most influential and popular newspaper in the UK, can evade justice without there being a trial of my claims then what does that say about the industry as a whole and the consequences for our great country.
In response to a source close to the Duke of Sussex’s claim, who said Associated Newspapers Limited had used “game playing and dirty tricks” to bring forward Harry’s evidence, an Associated Newspapers spokesperson said:
Prince Harry has been in London since the weekend ready to give evidence in this case, which he launched three and half years ago.
We don’t intend to dignify this briefing by the other side with any further comment.
In his written evidence, the Duke of Sussex described a Daily Mail article from 2013, which stated he “faces a lonely New Year’s Eve”, as “creepy”.
He said:
Associated published this article about my relationship with Cressida Bonas, including information about our whereabouts and plans.
The headline speaks to exactly how they wanted me to be: lonely, miserable, depressed.
Again, this article is creepy. Kensington Palace should not be talking about private matters, but just because someone said Cressida’s not coming for Christmas, how did they know she was on Richard Branson’s island?
It’s a horrible existence for a young girl to be stalked like this – they probably tracked Cressida or blagged information about her flight, and would have had her under surveillance like they did my other girlfriends.
