Prince Harry openly criticized the British press on his first day of testimony in London’s High Court as he presented his case about alleged privacy breaches that spanned several years.
Harry personally appeared on Tuesday, June 6, after a no-show at the court on Monday, and took his place in the witness box. He referred to a prepared witness statement, which spanned 55 pages, addressing the accusations he had leveled against the Daily Mirror. It is the first tabloid case in which he is involved. He delved into various topics in his statement, including people associated with Princess Diana, such as her former butler Paul Burrell.
Prince Harry expressed that during his time as a working royal family member, the taxpayer only funded a small fraction, close to 5%, of his expenses. However, he felt that the tabloid press regarded him as their exclusive property and believed they had the entitlement to possess comprehensive information about his personal life, activities, and the lives of his associates.
Prince Harry also described incidents where he received notifications of new voicemails on his phone during that time, only to see the notifications vanish before he could listen to the messages. This occurred frequently, leading him to believe his phone was being hacked.
Furthermore, he expressed how deeply hurtful stories suggesting that James Hewitt might be his biological father, had been to him. These rumors severely impacted his mental health and raised concerns that he would be expelled from the Royal Family due to the ensuing speculation. Lastly, Prince Harry directly targeted correspondent Piers Morgan, alleging his involvement in the purported spying and hacking as the former editor of the Daily Mirror. He also accused Morgan of orchestrating recent attacks against him and his wife, Meghan Markle.
During cross-examination, lawyers for the Mirror argued that other publications had already written the articles Prince Harry was suing over, and the Mirror was merely capitalizing on the news cycle with their versions. However, Prince Harry countered these assertions, insisting that these specific pieces had been produced unlawfully and had caused him significant distress. It is anticipated that his testimony will continue on Wednesday.
