Prince Harry finds out today whether he has won his court battle against the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People. It was a gruelling seven-week trial that brought the King’s son to the witness box for two days – the first senior royal to do so in 130 years.
At times, he was subjected to brutal cross-examination as Mirror Group Newspapers’ (MGN) barrister attempted to poke holes in his claim. Prince Harry accused MGN’s journalists of phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or gaining information by deception, and the use of private investigators.
The Duke of Sussex held his nerve, but at one point choked up when he discussed the effects of (what he thinks) are intrusive articles about his private life. In a witness statement, he said the articles made it “very hard” for him to trust anyone, and experienced “bouts of depression and paranoia”.
His mother, Princess Diana, is thought to have experienced similar feelings before her tragic death in a Paris car crash in 1997. Prince Harry is one of several high-profile figures suing MGN for alleged unlawful information gathering.
Prince Harry court battle latest: What you need to know and what could happen next?
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The articles that were tested cover Prince Harry’s relationship with his family and ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, alleged drug use, injuries and illnesses, and military service. Similar claims are being brought by Coronation Street actor, Michael Turner, who is known professionally as Michael Le Vell, actress Nikki Sanderson and comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife, Fiona Wightman.
MGN is largely contesting the claims made by The Duke of Sussex and others, and denies any of the articles complained about resulted from phone hacking. The publisher claims a vast majority of the articles tested as part of the trial (33 in Prince Harry’s case) did not come from unlawful activity.
However, MGN did make a small number of admissions in relation to the Prince, Ms Sanderson and Ms Whightman – apologising to them, and accepted they are entitled to some damages. Prince Harry is demanding £440,000 from MGN, but the publisher’s lawyers previously said Harry is entitled to just £500 for one instance of unlawful information gathering, which is unrelated to his claim.
David Sherborne, Prince Harry’s lawyer, said it was “utterly implausible” his client hadn’t been targeted, given a former Mirror Group editor described as the “king of hacking” had Harry’s mobile number. The trial lasted for seven weeks and the judge, Mr Justice Fancourt, has spent months weighing up all the evidence.
Prince Harry has multiple court cases with the British tabloids
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Since this is a civil case, Mr Justice Fancourt only needs to find on the balance of probabilities, whether or not Prince Harry is successful in his claim. If the Duke wins, Prince Harry will see this as a significant victory in his fight against the British media.
He sees it as his life’s mission to change the way the British media operates, seeking justice for (what he believes are) thousands of victims of alleged bad practices.
Many alleged victims of unlawful information gathering do not have the money to take a powerful newspaper publisher to court, but Prince Harry sees it as his duty to seek justice.
His multimillion-dollar deals with Netflix and the publisher of his controversial memoir could have helped pay for expensive lawyer fees. If the Duke loses, however, it will be a bitter blow for him.
Prince Harry is demanding £440,000 from Mirror Group Newspapers
Reuters
Will the Prince see that decision as an evil miscarriage of justice?
We will have to wait for the outcome of the judge’s decision first. It is likely Prince Harry only partly wins his claim – which could lead to quite a messy outcome where neither he, or MGN, feel a sense of satisfaction.
It is possible, for example, Harry fails to convince the judge he is a victim of phone hacking, but does convince him about other methods of unlawful information gathering.
This could lead to uncomfortable questions for former Mirror Group editors, in charge of publications in the 1990’s and early 2,000’s.
A lot of Prince Harry’s phone hacking evidence is believed to be circumstantial, however, but he claimed hard evidence had been deliberately destroyed in a cover-up which MGN denies.
Prince Harry’s court battles are far from over; he is pursuing a further four separate High Court cases against other UK publishers and the British Government.
Prince Harry is also suing the British Government over the Home Office committee’s decision to remove his police protection
PA
The publisher of the Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers) and the publisher of The Sun (News Group Newspapers) are both accused by Prince Harry of unlawful information gathering.
Both organisations deny the allegations.
Prince Harry is also suing the British Government over a Home Office committee’s decision not to provide him with “the same degree” of police protection when he stood back as a working member of the Royal Family.
He is also suing Associated Newspapers, in a separate claim, for libel after a Mail on Sunday article alleged Prince Harry’s public relations team spun the narrative to put him in a positive light.
Associated Newspapers intends to use ‘honest opinion’ as a defence in the future defamation trial.
Mr Justice Fancourt is expected to deliver his decision on Prince Harry’s case against Mirror Group Newspapers at 10.30am.
