Prince Harry has blamed the publisher of the Daily Mail for the breakdown of one of his early relationships. Photo / AP
Prince Harry has blamed the publisher of the Daily Mail for the breakdown of one of his early relationships. Photo / AP
Prince Harry has revealed new details about a “brief but private relationship” he had with a young woman in the early 2000s, blaming information gained about them via “illegal sources” for causing their break-up.
His statement came during a preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice in which href="https://www.nzherald.co.nz/lifestyle/prince-harry-skips-third-day-of-hearing-in-phone-hacking-lawsuit/62IF5T3XMNC4TDUVOA3WOOU57A/" target="_blank">he and other high-profile figures are suing publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) over alleged phone hacking and misuse of private information.
The Duke of Sussex dated Laura Gerard Leigh – a stockbroker’s daughter whose grandfather was a friend of his grandfather, Prince Philip – while he was at Eton College.
Prince Harry pictured in 2003, about to graduate from Eton. The Duke has revealed details of his relationship with Laura Gerard Leigh in the early 2000s. Photo / Getty Images
However, Harry claimed that after only “a matter of months”, the romance ended amid intense scrutiny from phone hackers, who were allegedly commissioned by the Daily Mail newspaper group.
He added that the fact journalists had found out about their relationship was “extraordinary”.
The Prince alleged that Gerard Leigh was targeted by private investigator Gavin Burrows, who he alleged also tapped into her parents’ voicemail messages.
“It led to Laura’s parents being doorstopped which they were understandably not pleased about. This sort of thing caused me to try and keep matters as private as I could to avoid this happening.”
His complaint specifically focused on a Mail on Sunday article.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice on March 28, 2023 in London, England. Photo / Getty Images
“This article is about a then-new relationship between me and [Ms Gerard Leigh], including details about her visiting me at Eton, meeting up in private at Windsor and efforts to keep the relationship secret,” he said in a witness statement.
Associated Newspapers has described the claims as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal”.
They claim the evidence was based on “unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence”.
In his witness statement, he claimed he was forced to adopt his family’s policy of “never complain, never explain” when it came to dealing 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.
“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.”
In his statement, Harry also said that he only became aware in 2018 that he had a potential claim against News Group Newspapers over alleged phone hacking.
“The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about [NGN’s alleged phone hacking] and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation.
