At the hearing, NGN argued that the Signal messages could contain crucial information related to the timing of the Duke of Sussex’s knowledge and suspicion of unlawful information gathering. Spare contained extensive references to this from before 2013, which is the applicable date in this case.
Prince Harry launched his case in 2019 and any claim for damages must be lodged within six years. If the messages proved that he believed he had grounds for a claim against NGN before 2013 then the case could be dismissed on the basis that it was filed too late.
High Court Justice Timothy Fancourt said it was "not transparently clear" why there had been obvious deletions of texts sent from Prince Harry to Moehringer over Signal and WhatsApp. The father-of-two was ordered to attempt to retrieve the messages from Signal, while his lawyers were ordered to search through his other texts, WhatsApp messages, and emails from 2005 right through to January 2023, the month his bombshell memoir hit the shelves, for any relevant information.
Judge Says There Was 'Troubling Evidence' Of Messages Being Destroyed
Fancourt agreed that there was "troubling evidence" of confidential messages being destroyed "well after this claim was underway," and said it was a "real concern" that the majority of searches for relevant documents had been conducted by "the duke himself in California," rather than by his legal team.
Fancourt said it was not clear "what exactly happened, and needs to be made so by a witness statement by the claimant himself explaining what happened to the Signal messages between him and his ghostwriter and whether any attempts have been made to seek to retrieve them."
He added: "It seems to me inherently likely that in the course of discussing at length the material for the duke's autobiography, matters would have been said that related to the parts of Spare in which unlawful information gathering in relation to newspapers is discussed."
Justice Fancourt said it's "rather remarkable" that such little evidence has been handed over so far, before saying Prince Harry needs to do everything he can to turn over the texts and emails or give the court a good explanation of what happened. However, Prince Harry's lawyers have insisted that he already went "above and beyond his obligations" to retrieve any relevant evidence.
According to Sky News, Prince Harry was ordered to make an interim payment of £60,000 in legal costs to NGN, as Fancourt ruled largely in favor of NGN's request for a wider search for evidence.
Prince Harry's Attorney Acknowledges That Some Of Prince Harry's Texts To 'Spare' Ghostwriter Were Deleted Due To 'Highly Sensitive' Information
Speaking of Prince Harry's lawyers, his attorney David Sherborne did acknowledge that many of his texts, especially ones related to his bombshell memoir, were deleted – and said it was due to them containing "highly sensitive information about Harry and the royal family, which if leaked, would not only compromise his security but also be potentially damaging to [him] and his family."
An insider reportedly told In Touch that the judge "isn't buying it," saying: "This reeks of a cover-up." Many people believe that Prince Harry is protecting his wife, Meghan Markle, who reportedly had some involvement in writing the memoir, with In Touch's source saying: "The world will find out soon enough. It's only a matter of time before the evidence is retrieved – if it hasn't been already – and it will destroy Harry."