Prince Harry, Elton John and several other celebrities are accusing Associated Newspapers of phone tapping and illegal information gathering. Photo / AP
Prince Harry, Elton John and several other celebrities are accusing Associated Newspapers of phone tapping and illegal information gathering. Photo / AP
The Duke of Sussex was notably absent from court on the third day of legal proceedings against publisher Associated Newspapers for illegal information gathering.
Prince Harry, 38, appeared in court on Monday and Tuesday in the UK, but did not appear on Wednesday local time. Along with Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and more, Harry is suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for illegal information gathering.
David Furnish, Jude Law’s ex-wife Sadie Frost and Baroness Doreen Lawrence are also claimants in the case and were spotted in court on Wednesday. The hearing is set to conclude tomorrow/
Elton John leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice in London. Photo / AP
Harry’s witness statement was referred to in court. Documents seen by People magazine reveal that the duke initially thought “no one would be so stupid as to hack my own phone given the security implications and consequences of my private information and whereabouts ending up in the wrong hands”.
In the statement, he adds that he recently learned that he could bring a claim against ANL after two private investigators admitted they had performed “unlawful acts against him on the instruction of the defendant’s newspapers”.
Earlier, Harry’s statement read, “No one had ever mentioned any evidence, or even suggested the possibility of guilt, in relation to unlawful information gathering by Associated. Before this point, whenever I considered Associated, I never thought about this. I did however think about all the other things I associated the Mail with, such as the harm caused to individuals and families up and down the country and all the false stories they would pump out about Meghan.”
Prince Harry made his father King Charles aware of his visit to the UK. Photo / AP
The hearing will conclude with a judge’s ruling on whether the case should go to trial, after hearing arguments from both sides. Associated Newspapers are calling for the case to be thrown out.
It comes after Harry’s surprise appearance at the Royal Courts of Justice on the first day of the hearing. In court, he sat two rows behind the leading lawyers in the case and took notes. He returned to court the next day and waved at onlookers and photographers as he headed inside.
In October 2022, Harry’s lawyers claimed he was one of several people who had “become aware of compelling and highly distressing evidence that they have been the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy by Associated Newspapers”.
These breaches of privacy allegedly include placing listening devices in people’s cars and homes, secretly recording private phone calls, paying police with “corrupt links to private investigators” to access information, and illegally obtaining medical and financial information.
The BBC reports that Associated Newspapers has called the allegations “preposterous smears”.
Harry’s court appearances mark the first time he’s returned to the UK since his grandmother the Queen’s funeral in September. According to People, he told his father King Charles and his brother Prince William he would arrive in the country to attend the case, but it’s unlikely that he made plans to see them during the trip.
Prince William and Kate Middleton are currently taking time off, with their three children George, Charlotte and Louis on a break from school.
King Charles and Queen Camilla have arrived in Germany, after their plans to visit France over the weekend were postponed due to protests across the country.
