Prince Harry has issued a triumphant statement after completing a two-hour cross-examination today.
The Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley are all bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the Mail publisher, over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
This includes claims that information for articles was obtained by carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as phone tapping and “blagging” private records.
ANL has strongly denied wrongdoing and is defending the claims.
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On Wednesday, Harry spent around two hours answering questions from ANL's lawyer in a series of frosty exchanges before he was asked how the proceedings had made him feel by his barrister, David Sherborne.
Following the conclusion of his third day in court, Prince Harry told GB News: “Today we reminded the Mail Group who is on trial and why.”
Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Duke of Sussex told the People's Channel: “Today’s cross-examination was revealing in its weakness: assertive in tone, but collapsing immediately under scrutiny from Prince Harry.
“Associated couldn’t wait to get him off the stand, questioning him for just 2 hours and avoiding 10 of his 14 articles entirely.”
Prince Harry issues triumphant statement after completing two-hour cross-examination
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The Duke of Sussex appeared on the verge of tears today as he concluded his evidence at the High Court in his trial against the publisher of the Mail, saying: “They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery.”
Harry added: “It’s fundamentally wrong to put us through this again when all we wanted was an apology and accountability. It’s a horrible experience.”
Sounding emotional and appearing to be on the verge of tears, he continued: “They continue to come after me, they have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my Lord.”
In his 23-page witness statement, Harry said that when he brought legal action against two other newspaper publishers, he had “no idea” that he may have had a claim against ANL.
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Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex leaves The Royal Courts of Justice
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He continued: “As I am sure is clear, if I had known earlier, then I would have acted, particularly given ANL’s treatment of Meghan and her claim against it.”
The Duchess of Sussex sued ANL and won in 2021 after The Mail on Sunday published parts of a “personal and private” letter to her father, Thomas Markle.
Soon after he began dating Meghan, Harry attacked the media over its “abuse and harassment” of her. At the time, Kensington Palace warned on his behalf: “This is not a game – it is her life.”
Leaving the courtroom after concluding his evidence on Wednesday, he continued to appear upset, sniffling as he exited through the door.
The duke said the case against ANL felt like a “recurring traumatic experience” and a “repeat of the past”, adding: “I have never believed that my life is open season to be commercialised by these people.” He later said the “claim that I don’t have any rights to any privacy is disgusting”.
During his evidence on Wednesday, the duke denied having “leaky” social circles, as he insisted he was unable to complain about press coverage because of the royal institution.
In a frosty exchange between Harry and lawyers acting on behalf of ANL, the duke told the High Court: “My social circles were not leaky, I want to make that absolutely clear.”
He said that if he became suspicious of someone: “I would have to cut contact with this person”.
Harry said it would have been “impossible to complain” about certain stories because “thousands” of articles were being written about him by newspapers. He added: “If you complain, they double down on you, in my experience.”
The duke insisted he did not complain about some of the articles at the centre of his claim “because of the institution I was in”.
In his witness statement, Harry said he did not see “why Associated should get away with something they have covered up and lied about for however many years”.
He continued: “I am determined to hold Associated accountable, for everyone’s sake. I am therefore committed to pursuing this claim because I believe it is in the public’s interest.
“If the defendant, the owner of various national newspapers, including the Daily Mail, which, by its own definition, is the most influential and popular newspaper in the UK, can evade justice without there being a trial of my claims, then what does that say about the industry as a whole and the consequences for our great country?”
Proceedings are scheduled to continue until March, when the trial is expected to conclude. A judgment will be delivered in written form at a subsequent date.