Prince Harry testifies in court in London
Prince Harry testified in a London court on Tuesday to discuss his case against a newspaper, becoming the first member of the British royal family to testify in court in more than a century.
The statement is part of a lawsuit Harry and more than 100 others are filing against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publishers of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People tabloids. They accuse newspapers of tapping their phones for private information between 1991 and 2011.
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In a statement, the British royal family said: “I have felt the hostility of the press since I was born.” […] Some of the editors and journalists are responsible for causing a great deal of pain, excitement, and in some cases, perhaps unintentionally, death.”
“It certainly shocked me to find out what illegal methods were used to obtain information (for some) articles,” Harry said.
What is the process about?
1 of 2 Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrives to testify in London Photo: Kate Green / Getty Images / via AFP Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrives to testify in London Photo: Kate Green / Getty Images / via AFP
Harry and more than 100 others are suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publishers of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People tabloids, alleging widespread illegal activities between 1991 and 2011.
Those involved include actors, sports stars, celebrities, and people who just had a connection to important figures.
They say the media group’s journalists, or private investigators they hired, carried out “industrialscale” phone hacking, mistakenly obtained private data and other illegal acts to uncover information about them.
Senior editors and executives knew of the conduct and condoned it, prosecutors’ attorneys say.
MGN denies the allegations, arguing that some of the lawsuits, like Harry’s, were filed too late.
Harry has three days to testify.
2 of 2 One of Prince Harry’s lawyers, David Sherborne, arrives at court in London to tell the judge that his client who was called to testify failed to arrive in time on 5 June 2023. Photo: Hannah McKay/ Portal One of Prince Harry’s lawyers, David Sherborne, arrives at court in London to tell the judge that his client to testify failed to arrive in time on 5 June 2023. Photo: Hannah McKay/ Portal
Deposit Delay
British newspapers were expecting the youngest son of King Charles III, 38, to appear at the hearing against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publishers of Mirror newspaper and Sunday People magazine, on Monday (5).
Journalists and photographers have been waiting for him at the entrance to the High Court in London since early morning.
However, his attorney David Sherborne said he would not appear for testimony until Tuesday as he was in California celebrating his daughter’s second birthday and would not arrive in the UK until Sunday evening.
Judge Timothy Fancourt was “a little surprised” by the announcement and MGN attorney Andrew Green was “deeply disturbed” by the absence of Harry, whom he said he was planning to question for a day and a half.
The last time the Duke of Sussex was in the country was for his father’s coronation ceremony on May 6th. He attended the event without his wife, American actress Meghan Markle, and promptly returned to the United States, where the couple has lived since 2020.
Harry and other celebrities accuse MGN of illegally gathering information about them, including phone hacking.
leave the monarchy
Harry, who rocked the British monarchy when he and Meghan announced they were leaving the institution more than three years ago, has further lawsuits pending against the press in his country.
The couple cited unbearable pressure from the media and racist attacks on the actress as reasons for leaving the UK.
Harry, fifth in line to the throne, and his wife have a very strained relationship with the press.
A few weeks ago, they both reported witnessing an “almost catastrophic” paparazzi chase on the streets of New York (as a reminder).
Local authorities downplayed the incident, which was reminiscent of the 1997 Paris road accident that killed Harry’s mother, Princess Diana, while being chased by photographers.