Prince Harry, 38, is among a group of over 100 celebrities suing Mirror Group Newspapers Limited, which publishes The Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, among others, for unlawful information gathering using phone hacking, deception and other illicit means between 1991 and 2011. Prince Harry’s phone hacking claims range from 2003 to 2011.
The Duke of Sussex is one of the people expected to give evidence against MGN in June, just three months after he made a surprise appearance at the royal courts of justice as part of a different phone hacking case against Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday publishers, Associated Newspapers Limited. We already have information on Prince Harry’s witness statement, which his lawyer David Sherbourne has referenced, and know that he has accused MGN of hacking the phones of the Princess of Wales and other females close to him during that time period.
#Wednesday Princess Kate Middleton, Chelsy Davy received suspicious phone calls Prince Harry tells #London court in phone hacking scandal
A #royal #mystery that intrigued generations is revealed!#UK https://t.co/pozlaE59eY#US https://t.co/YxGWQZBj8o https://t.co/PkDypzOtsv pic.twitter.com/k2Cx8Sm7JY— Gregory, Kopp Company (@kopp_co) May 10, 2023
Prince Harry References 313 ‘Suspicious’ Phone Calls In Witness Statement
According to GB News, Prince Harry listed 313 “highly suspicious” phone calls that were made to mobile phones belonging to his friends, family and associates, including sister-in-law Kate Middleton, his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, who he dated on and off between 2004 and 2011, and Princess Diana’s mother Frances Shand Kydd.
The witness statement mentioned that two suspicious phone calls were allegedly made to the Princess of Wales’ phone in 2004 and 2010 before she officially became a member of the royal family when she married Prince William in 2011.
Kate Middleton received ‘highly suspicious’ phone calls claims Prince Harry https://t.co/gBLXNB9P8H pic.twitter.com/33ABtOY8PJ
— woman&home (@womanandhome) May 11, 2023
Prince Harry’s Lawyer Said Phone Hacking Caused Him ‘Huge Distress’
The High Court was told that seven of the alleged calls were made to phones belonging to Chelsy between 2007 and 2009, which Prince Harry seems to think is what ultimately caused their relationship to break down, as she couldn’t cope with the invasion of privacy.
“There was nowhere that was ‘off limits’ for MGN’s newspapers, whose journalists would even manage to book into a hotel in Bazaruto, a small island off the coast of Mozambique, when the Duke of Sussex and Ms Davy tried to escape there and enjoy some peace and quiet,” Sherbourne, said. “They were never on their own, which ‘placed a huge amount of unnecessary stress and strain’ on their relationship,” he added.
"Ultimately, MGN’s activities led Ms. Davy to make the decision that 'a royal life was not for her', which was 'incredibly upsetting' for the Duke of Sussex at the time," he continued, adding, "They also caused their circle of friends to become smaller and smaller, meaning that friendships were lost unnecessarily, and led to 'huge bouts of depression and paranoia.'"
Sherbourne also claimed that the unlawful information gathering caused the father-of-two huge distress, saying, "He became immediately suspicious of anyone named in stories about him and felt that he could not trust anybody, even at such a young age. It also caused great challenges in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, and made him fear for his and her safety." He went on to say: "Every time he was in a relationship, or even a rumored relationship, that whole person’s family, and often their friends, would be 'dragged into the chaos' and find themselves the subject of unlawful activity on the part of MGN."
British Newspaper, The Daily Mirror, has apologised to Prince Harry for unlawfully seeking information about him as a phone-hacking trial began in London. pic.twitter.com/gD5iXc3Kgd
— The Project (@theprojecttv) May 11, 2023
MGN 'Unreservedly Apologizes' For One Instance Of Unlawful Information Gathering
In court documents that were released at the start of the trial in London’s High Court on Wednesday, May 10th, MGN said it "unreservedly apologizes" to Prince Harry for one instance of unlawful information gathering back in 2004 and accepts that he is entitled to the "appropriate compensation."
They have, however, also stated that there is "simply no evidence" for many of the claims of phone hacking, with MGN's lawyer Andrew Green KC telling the court that evidence of call data to support phone hacking allegations was "slim to utterly non-existent," and that many incidents involved were of a "breathtaking level of triviality."
Prince Harry Has Been Paranoid About The British Media For A Long Time
Prince Harry's trust issues have been touched upon several times in recent months, with Valentine Low, the author of Courtiers: Intrigue, Ambition, and the Power Players Behind the House of Windsor, revealing back in February that Prince Harry has been paranoid about the British media for a very long time. His paranoia was so bad that Low reported that Prince Harry forced his palace aides to undergo "loyalty tests," which predictably left them "exhausted" and unhappy.
"If he had a beef with the media, he’d want them to pursue it," Low told Fox News Digital, in reference to how he allegedly expected his palace aides to behave. "They would often say, 'Harry, don’t pick this fight. This fight’s not worth having. You don’t have to pursue every slight that’s been done towards you.' And if you didn’t pursue it with the kind of energy that he sought, he could question your loyalty. He wondered if you’d become one of them, one of the others from the other royal households who protected the institution... and not the individual." Yikes!
