(London) Prince Harry obtained the conviction of the editor of the British tabloid on Friday Daily Mirror for articles resulting from the hacking of telephone messages, his first major victory in the war he has waged against the tabloid press.
Through his lawyer David Sherborne, the youngest son of King Charles III welcomed a judgment which gives him “reason” and “confidence”. “The mission continues,” he added.
The judgment rendered Friday is the first in a series of legal proceedings initiated by the 39-year-old prince against the British press, who personally came to court to testify in this case.
He orders the publishing company of the Mirror to pay him 140,600 pounds sterling ($240,000) in damages.
The judge found that 15 of the 33 disputed articles retained in the proceedings – published between 1996 and 2009 – came from hacking into the voicemail boxes of the Duke of Sussex or his entourage as well as other illicit processes.
He estimated that Prince Harry’s mobile phone messaging had been hacked “to a modest extent”.
The magistrate further highlighted Prince Harry’s “tendency” to believe that “everything published was the product of voicemail interceptions”, as this practice “prevailed within the Mirror Group at the time”. But this practice was “not the only journalistic tool at the time and claims in relation to the 18 other articles do not stand up to careful analysis”.
“Industrial scale”
The magistrate also highlighted “the distress” that Harry suffered “as a result of the illegal activity directed against him and his loved ones”.
During the trial, the prince, at odds with the royal family, testified for eight hours spread over two days of hearing last June.
It was the first appearance of a member of the royal family at the bar since that of the future Edward VII in 1891 for a libel trial.
“Phone hacking was practiced on an industrial scale by at least three newspapers at the time, and there is no doubt about it,” the Duke of Sussex accused on June 7, on the second day of his testimony.
Prince Harry feels a stubborn resentment towards the tabloid press, which he holds responsible for the death of his mother Diana, chased by paparazzi in Paris in 1997.
He also accuses him of what he describes as harassment against Meghan and of having responsibility for the bad relations he has with his family.
Unreserved apologies
Harry sued the publisher of Daily Mirror and its Sunday and celebrity editions for hacking voicemail boxes and illegal collection of information, in particular by using private detectives.
The group rejected the vast majority of the accusations, notably contesting any hacking of messaging services. But he had admitted to some illicit procedures – for five of the 33 articles – notably the use of a private detective regarding a nightclub outing in 2004, and apologized.
He welcomed the judgment handed down on Friday, which gives him “the clarity necessary to move forward with regard to facts which took place years ago”. “Where wrongs have been committed, we unreservedly apologize and take full responsibility and pay appropriate compensation,” a spokesperson said.
The prince is still at odds with the rest of the British royal family. He only made a brief trip to his father’s coronation on May 6 and kept his distance from his father and his brother, the heir to the crown William, both of whom are buried in his memoirs.
In the range of proceedings Prince Harry has taken against the press, he was ordered four days ago to pay £48,000 ($82,000) after losing a round in a libel case against the Mail on Sundayfor an article relating to his police protection when he went to the United Kingdom.