Prince Harry Set for Legal Showdown With News Group Newspapers Over Privacy Intrusions
Prince Harry isn't done with his legal battle against the British tabloid publishers, and a judge of the High Court just ruled that Harry can proceed with his claims.
Will Prince Harry's legal battle against the tabloid industry ever end? The Duke of Sussex joined a group of celebrities taking legal action against several British publishers, and the A-listers accused the outlets of breaking the law in order to release salacious stories.
On Thursday, July 27, a judge of the High Court ruled that parts of Harry's declaraton can proceed and potentially go to trial even though the News Group Newspapers denied the assertion.
Harry's pursuit of justice forced him to return to the U.K. several times this year to present his witness statement. Throughout his testimony, Harry discussed his family's role in his public image, the emotional distress of being famous and his breakup with Chelsy Davy.
The Royal Observer previously reported Harry told the High Court his failed courtship with Davy was evidence of phone hacking and journalists stripping him of his rights.
The Spare author revealed the articles he read about their breakup were emotionally taxing. The Harry & Meghan star thinks the publication wanted readers to celebrate his singleness.
"Going through it again now — 'Hooray Harry is Dumped' was hurtful to say the least, that such a private moment was turned into a bit of a laugh," the former senior royal said.
When he took the stand in June, Harry accused the Mirror Group and Associated Newspapers of breaking the journalistic code to gain information about his personal life.
"The fact that the payments were referred to as Project Harry is incredibly disturbing," he said in reference to an invoice.
"The level of surveillance that I was under was quite something," he added.
This past summer, Harry accused the outlets of ending his romance with Davy, but in April, he pointed the finger at the crown for the hurtful headlines.
The veteran shared that he was notified of an arrangement Queen Elizabeth had with the media organization. "It was agreed directly between these parties, as opposed to their lawyers … that at the conclusion of the Mobile Telephone Voicemail Interception Litigation (MTVIL) News would admit or settle such a claim with an apology," court documents revealed. "In 2017, the claimant and the institution began to push for the outstanding claim to be resolved."
"However, News filibustered in relation to this until, in 2019, the claimant had enough and issued his claim," Harry's attorney added.
