“Each article made me suffer,” he said at the helm, accusing the MGN group of having used illicit methods to gather information about his private life.
This is one of the legal battles initiated by Prince Harry. The youngest son of King Charles III denounced, Tuesday, June 6, the intrusion of the press in his life. Since the start of this trial, which opened in London last month, Harry has accused the publisher of the DailyMirror of using illicit methods to gather information, including hacking into voicemails, between 1996 and 2010. “Each article made me suffer”said the Duke of Sussex, after being sworn on the Bible as a witness.
The prince described, in an often hesitant voice, how in every palace the newspapers were always present. “In my experience as a member of the royal family, each of us is assigned a specific role by the tabloid press”, did he declare. And the prince to list: “You are either the playboy prince or the failure (…) or in my case the cheater, the underage drinker, the irresponsible drug addict and the list goes on and on.”
“Looking back on it today, such behavior on their part is utterly despicable.”
Prince Harryduring his trial against the gossip press
“How much more blood will stain their fingers before someone stops this madness?” asked Harry, who accuses the tabloids of being responsible for the death of his mother Diana, chased by paparazzi in Paris in 1997.
The “Daily Mirror” apologizes but…
In all, 33 contentious articles were retained by the judge in the procedure, out of 147 referred to by Harry. Prince Harry’s lawyer has claimed that the media group has used the services of“at least 30 private detectives”. Faced with these accusations, Andrew Green, the lawyer for Mirror Group Newspapersowner of DailyMirrorrenewed the apology “without reservation” of the group. Despite everything, the publisher refuted some of the prince’s accusations.
“There is simply no evidence to conclude that the Duke of Sussex was hacked.”
Andrew Green, lawyer for Mirror Group Newspapersduring the trial
This testimony from the 38-year-old prince marks the first appearance of a member of the royal family on the stand since that of the future Edward VII in 1891 for a libel trial. Exiled to California with his wife Meghan, the youngest son of King Charles III, at odds with the rest of the British royal family, also criticizes the people press for what he describes as harassment towards Meghan and for having a responsibility in the bad relationship he has with his family.