London CNN –
Prince Harry takes the witness stand on Tuesday as his years-long battle against the British tabloid media reaches its most dramatic climax yet.
The royal faces questions in his case against a major newspaper publisher in London’s High Court.
He arrived at the venue on Tuesday morning and quickly walked past a crowd of photographers and journalists to enter the building.
The appearance of a British royal on a witness stand is an exceptionally rare event. But Harry has long railed against the tabloid media’s tactics in reporting his life, and now he will have the opportunity to cross-examine his arguments under oath by MGN’s lawyers.
It’s likely to be a tense and formative gig for the Duke as he charts his own path and grows further and further away from the rest of the royal family.
Here’s what you need to know about the process.
The Duke of Sussex and three other plaintiffs representing dozens of celebrities are suing MGN, alleging that the company obtained private information through phone hacking and other illegal means, including private investigators, between 1991 and 2011.
The trial began on May 10 and is expected to last seven weeks.
MGN denies most of the allegations, arguing in its court filings that some claims were made too late and that there was insufficient evidence of phone hacking in all four cases.
In court documents released last month, the publisher apologized for a case of unlawful intelligence gathering nearly 20 years ago. That incident involved a private investigator being paid £75 (US$95) by Sunday People, a tabloid from the same group, to gather information on the Duke of Sussex at a London nightclub in 2004.
Harry’s attorney, David Sherborne, said his lawsuit against MGN, which covers incidents from 1995 to 2011, is “significant not only in terms of the time span, but also in terms of the scope of activities it covers.”
Harry was subjected to “the most intrusive methods of obtaining personal information,” Sherborne said, arguing that “no one should be exposed to it.” The “unlawful methods” are “habitual and widespread” among journalists, Sherborne added.
A huge media crowd gathered outside the Supreme Court doors on Monday morning, hoping to catch a glimpse of the Duke – who was later revealed would not be present until Tuesday.
In the courtroom, Sherborne explained parts of Harry’s case and introduced some of the items that will be discussed at the trial.
According to the PA Media news agency, the lawyer said unlawful intelligence-gathering activities “acted like a web” around Harry and “went under the radar” of the MGN newspapers.
The first article, in September 1996, was headlined “Diana is so sad on Harry’s big day” and described a visit by Princess Diana to Harry on his 12th birthday, according to PA Media. MGN denies there was any illegal activity and argues that the information is already in the public domain, PA reported.
Another story discussed touched on the relationship between Harry and Prince William in 2003.
Harry expects a harsh hearing from the publisher’s lawyers on the witness stand this week.
The prince claims that about 140 articles published in the group’s titles contained information collected using unlawful methods, and 33 of those articles were selected for trial, according to PA Media.
It is likely that details of these stories will be extensively analyzed.
And while this is Harry’s first appearance in a court case against the British media, it may not be his last.
The lawsuit against MGN is one of several lawsuits Harry and his wife Meghan have filed in their long-running battle with British tabloids, which they accuse of data breaches and publishing false stories.
Hannah McKay/Portal
Harry appeared before the Supreme Court in March on a separate case.
According to Portal, the pair have filed at least seven lawsuits against UK and US media organizations since 2019, including Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN). NGN publishes The Sun and formerly produced News of the World, which shut down in 2011 over a phone hacking scandal.
In March, Harry appeared at a court hearing in his case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful intelligence gathering, which that group has denied.
Harry’s appearance in court is extremely rare. According to PA Media, this is believed to be the first time since 2002 that a senior British royal has appeared in person when Princess Anne pleaded guilty after her dog bit two children at a Windsor park.
It has been more than 130 years since a senior member of the royal family testified in court when Edward VII was a witness in a libel trial over a deck of cards in 1891 before he became king, Portal reported.
It’s not yet clear whether Harry’s statement will affect other royals or his relationships with family members. But his brother and heir to the throne, Prince William, has recently become involved in another of Harry’s cases.
Documents released in April as part of Harry’s lawsuit against NGN allege that the publisher privately reached an undisclosed settlement with Prince William over historic phone hacking allegations. It’s unclear how Prince Harry learned of his brother’s settlement, but in his court response he writes that his information is based on a redacted document from which he concludes Prince William signed the agreement.
Officials at Kensington Palace, who represents Prince William, told CNN they are not commenting on court proceedings. Buckingham Palace reiterated the same position. Prince Harry says his late grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, knew about the settlement talks.
Whether this week’s case will also raise questions for other members of the royal family remains to be seen. But it marks a turning point in Harry’s efforts against key British media figures, and his performance is likely to dominate the headlines for days to come.