High Court hears claims of hacking and deception by Associated Newspapers as Duke of Sussex and six high-profile figures seek justice in nine-week case.
LONDON – The High Court heard on Tuesday that Prince Harry faced a “sustained campaign of attacks” from the Daily Mail as retribution for challenging the newspaper’s intrusion into his private life. The accusation came during opening statements in a landmark privacy lawsuit brought by the Duke of Sussex and six other prominent claimants against the paper’s publisher.
Prince Harry, 41, joined by Sir Elton John, actress Elizabeth Hurley, and other high-profile figures, is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). The group alleges the publisher engaged in widespread unlawful information gathering—including phone hacking, landline bugging, and obtaining private records by deception—over more than two decades.
“No One Sold More Copies”
In court, Harry’s barrister, David Sherborne, stated that “no one sold more copies” for British tabloids than the Prince, whose personal life was mined for intrusive stories. Sherborne detailed 14 articles in question, which included private details about Harry’s relationships before he met his wife, Meghan, and plans to be a godfather.
“Given what we’ve seen, is it any wonder that he feels… he has endured a sustained campaign of attacks against him for having had the temerity to stand up to Associated?” Sherborne asked the court, with Harry present in the gallery.
A Broader Pattern of Alleged Intrusion
The claims extend beyond the royal. The court heard that for a 2010 article about Elton John and David Furnish’s son born via surrogacy, the Mail allegedly obtained the child’s US birth certificate before the parents themselves.
ANL has categorically denied all allegations, labeling them “preposterous smears.” The publisher’s lawyer, Antony White, asserted that journalists used legitimate sources, including the celebrities’ own social circles, and promised “a compelling account of lawful sourcing.”
A Personal Legal Crusade
This trial is the latest and most significant step in Prince Harry’s long-running battle with the British press—a crusade rooted in the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana. Harry is expected to give evidence this week, marking his second time testifying in court after making history as the first British royal to do so in 130 years during a 2023 case.
The nine-week trial is set to hear from all claimants, including anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence and former MP Simon Hughes, in a case that could have profound implications for press regulation and privacy rights in the UK.
