Princess Kate received 'highly suspicious phone calls' Prince Harry tells court
Prince Harry has claimed that suspicious calls were made to the mobile phone belonging to the Princess of Wales
PA
Prince Harry has claimed that suspicious calls were made to mobile phones belonging to the Princess of Wales, Chelsy Davy and Princess Diana’s mother Frances Shand Kydd in his legal battle with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
In a witness statement submitted to the High Court, Harry lists 313 "highly suspicious" calls made to his friends, family and associates between 2003 and 2011.
These included calls to Princess Kate and Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
Seven of the alleged calls were made to phones belonging to his then-girlfriend Davy between 2007 and 2009 and two were made to Kate's phone in 2004 and 2010.
The calls included ones to Princess Kate and Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
PA
The High Court was told that Davy decided "a royal life was not for her" as a result of alleged unlawful information gathering by journalists at the Mirror Group Newspapers.
David Sherborne, representing the Duke of Sussex said in his damages claim against MGN that said the alleged activities caused Harry "huge distress".
Referencing Prince Harry’s witness statement in the case, Sherborne said: "He became immediately suspicious of anyone named in stories about him and felt that he could not trust anybody, even at such a young age.
"It also caused great challenges in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, and made him fear for his and her safety.
"Every time he was in a relationship, or even a rumoured relationship, that whole person’s family, and often their friends, would be 'dragged into the chaos' and find themselves the subject of unlawful activity on the part of MGN.
"There was nowhere that was 'off limits' for MGN’s newspapers, whose journalists would even manage to book into a hotel in Bazaruto, a small island off the coast of Mozambique, when the Duke of Sussex and Ms Davy tried to escape there and enjoy some peace and quiet.
"They were never on their own, which ‘placed a huge amount of unnecessary stress and strain’ on their relationship.
"Ultimately, MGN’s activities led Ms Davy to make the decision that ‘a royal life was not for her’, which was ‘incredibly upsetting’ for the Duke of Sussex at the time.
The High Court was told that Davy decided "a royal life was not for her" as a result of alleged unlawful information gathering by journalists at the Mirror Group Newspapers
PA
"They also caused their circle of friends to become smaller and smaller, meaning that friendships were lost entirely unnecessarily, and led to ‘huge bouts of depression and paranoia’."
MGN has admitted unlawfully gathering information about the Duke, but has denied phone hacking.
In court documents released at the start of a trial in London, MGN said it "unreservedly apologises" for instances of unlawful information gathering.
The publisher added that it "will never be repeated".
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