Britain's Prince Harry leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice. Photo / AP
Britain's Prince Harry leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice. Photo / AP
Prince Harry is speaking his mind.
The Duke of Sussex, whose surprise visit to London for a legal case against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) has the media in a frenzy, provided a witness statement in the illegal information gathering trial, revealing that he adopted the royal family’s mantra “never complain, never explain” when it came to conflict with the media.
“Following the death of my mother in 1997 when I was 12 years old and her treatment at the hands of the press, I have always had an uneasy relationship with the press,” he said, referring to the late Princess Diana.
“However, as a member of the Institution the policy was to ‘never complain, never explain’. There was no alternative; I was conditioned to accept it. For the most part, I accepted the interest in my performing my public functions.”
However, when Harry entered into a relationship with Meghan Markle, the prince became “increasingly troubled by the approach of not taking action against the press in the wake of vicious persistent attacks on, harassment of and intrusive, sometimes racist articles concerning Meghan”.
The Duke added that “the situation got worse” during Meghan’s pregnancy and when the Suits actress gave birth to their first child, Archie, in May 2019.
Prince Harry, second right, in court. Photo / AP
Prince Harry allegedly realised that he had a phone hacking claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN) in 2018.
“The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN’s phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation,” he said.
The prince added: “It is not an exaggeration to say that the bubble burst in terms of what I knew in 2020 when I moved out of the United Kingdom.” Harry and Meghan moved to the US in 2020 and settled in Markle’s home state of California after they stepped back from their roles as senior members of the royal family.
“To this day, there are members of the royal family and friends of mine who may have been targeted by NGN and I have no idea whether they have or have not brought claims,” he continued.
“There was never any centralised discussion between us about who had brought claims as each office in the Institution is siloed. There is this misconception that we are all in constant communication with one another but that is not true.”
Elton John and several other celebrities allege phone tapping and other invasions of privacy. Photo / AP
The Duke of Sussex emphasised that the claim was “not just about me”.
“I am bringing this claim because I love my country and I remain deeply concerned by the unchecked power, influence and criminality of Associated [ANL],” he said. “The evidence I have seen shows that Associated’s journalists are criminals with journalistic powers which should concern every single one of us. The British public deserve to know the full extent of this cover-up and I feel it is my duty to expose it.”
Prince Harry appeared at the High Court on Monday and returned on Tuesday for a second day of legal proceedings in which he and other A-listers - including Elton John, his husband David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Parliament member Doreen Lawrence and Jude Law’s ex-wife Sadie Frost - are suing Associated Newspapers Ltd.
The stars alleged that unlawful practices such as the use of listening devices in vehicles and homes, the undercover recording of phone calls, the bribing of police officers “with corrupt links to private investigators” for private information, the impersonation of others to acquire medical records from hospitals, and illegal manipulation of bank accounts, credit histories and other financial systems were used by the publisher.
The four-day case will hear legal reasoning from both sides and will go to trial based on the judge’s ruling. Associated Newspapers believe that the case should be thrown out.
Associated Newspapers have additionally denied the claims, calling them “preposterous smears,” the BBC reports.
