In a high-profile legal battle, Prince Harry has accused the publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday of “grave breaches of privacy” over a 20-year period. The Duke of Sussex claims he was made to feel “paranoid beyond belief” by the alleged unlawful information gathering by the newspapers.
Prince Harry, along with several other high-profile claimants including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, are seeking to establish a “pattern of misconduct” by Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday. The claimants allege that the publisher committed “systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering” to obtain details about their private lives.
During the first day of the trial at the High Court, the prince’s lawyer, David Sherborne, quoted him as saying the newspapers’ alleged activity created “distrust and suspicion” and was “terrifying” for his loved ones while “isolating” him. Sherborne claimed the alleged unlawful information gathering in the duke’s case was related to 14 articles between 2001 and 2013.
However, Antony White KC, representing the publisher, denied the allegations, stating that “the pattern of misconduct the claimants seek to establish is simply not made out.” He said the articles were “sourced entirely legitimately from information variedly provided by contacts of the journalists responsible,” including palace spokespersons and freelance journalists.
The case is the latest in a series of legal battles for Prince Harry, who has previously won claims against Mirror Group Newspapers and the publisher of the Sun newspaper over unlawful information gathering. The nine-week trial is expected to be a closely watched affair, with the judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, set to decide the case on his own without a jury.