Prince Harry Arrives at London Court 'Confident and Ready' For Yet Another Legal Showdown
Prince Harry arrived at London’s High Court on Monday for his latest legal fight against one of Britain’s biggest newspaper publishers. The Duke of Sussex entered the Gothic Victorian court building around 10 AM. Ahead of the hearing, a spokesperson for Harry told NBC News that he was feeling 'confident and ready' for the case, which is expected to run for nine weeks. Harry is the lead claimant in a group lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. The group includes singer Elton John and actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost. Together, they accused the publisher of using unlawful methods to gather information, including phone hacking, wiretapping, and other intrusive practices, to produce sensational stories.
The claims relate to alleged misconduct dating back several years. When the case was first filed in October 2022, ANL strongly rejected the accusations, saying it “utterly and unambiguously” denied what it described as “preposterous smears.” The publisher has continued to deny any wrongdoing. Harry is expected to give evidence on Thursday.
The High Court was told in detail how information about Harry and people close to him was allegedly obtained using unlawful methods, as his legal case against the publisher of the Daily Mail continued on Monday. Until the filing of this report, Barrister David Sherborne, acting for the Duke of Sussex, highlighted emails that he said showed private information being gathered in ways that could not have been legitimate. One of the examples focused on Harry’s former girlfriend, Chelsy Davy. An email shown to the court contained detailed information about a flight she took in 2007, including her seat number, travel times, and itinerary. Sherborne alleged that the information was obtained by private investigator Mike Behr and then passed on to Daily Mail royal editor Rebecca English. He told the court that there was 'no way' anyone reading the email could have believed the information had been gathered lawfully.
The court also heard about a later email exchange from 2013 between English and Behr, this time relating to Harry himself. In that correspondence, Behr shared details of Harry’s flight, which English acknowledged. Sherborne argued that this showed she was fully aware of the methods being used, describing it as an alleged 'blagging' by the investigator. It was further claimed that Harry was travelling under a pseudonym at the time, which would have made access to his travel details particularly difficult through legitimate means. Despite this, the emails showed Behr providing precise flight numbers and timings after English named Harry’s protection officer.
According to court documents, Harry is challenging 14 articles published by Associated Newspapers between 2001 and 2013 that he says relied on unlawfully obtained information. The allegations include the use of private investigators and intrusive newsgathering techniques, the BBC reported. Some of the articles cited in the claim relate to personal matters. One allegation concerns the intrusion into a private conversation between Harry and his brother, Prince William, about a memorial for their mother, Princess Diana, and the possible involvement of Sir Elton John. Another claim involves a story about photographs of Diana taken after her fatal car crash, which Harry says was based on information taken from 'private and intimate' discussions between the two brothers.
Associated Newspapers has strongly denied all accusations of unlawful activity. Its legal team is expected to argue that there were legitimate explanations for how the information used in the articles was obtained. The trial is expected to continue until March, with further evidence and testimony to be heard. This case is one of several legal actions Harry has pursued against British media organizations. He has repeatedly spoken about his belief that sections of the press used unethical and illegal practices, and has framed his lawsuits as an attempt to hold newspapers to account