Meghan’s life made a 'misery', emotional Prince Harry tells trial of Mail publisher claim
Prince Harry (right) being questioned by Antony White as he gives evidence on day three of the trial over allegations of unlawful information gathering brought against Associated Newspapers Limited. Picture: Elizabeth Cook/PA Wire
Britain's Prince Harry appeared on the verge of tears as he concluded his evidence at the High Court in England in his trial against the publisher of the , saying: “They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery.”
Prince Harry spent around two hours answering questions from Associated Newspapers Limited’s (ANL) lawyer on Wednesday in a series of frosty exchanges, before he was asked how the proceedings had made him feel by his barrister David Sherborne.
He said: “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.”
Meghan Markle 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 Ms Markle, Prince Harry attacked the media over its “abuse and harassment” of her.
Kensington Palace warned on his behalf: “This is not a game – it is her life.”
In a statement after the hearing, Prince Harry said: “Today we reminded the Mail Group who is on trial and why.”
A response from an Associated Newspapers spokesperson said: “It is for the Judge to decide what he makes of a witness’s evidence, not Prince Harry or his spokesman, and naive and self-serving statements during the trial are inappropriate.”
In court, Prince Harry 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”.
Prince Harry, Elton John and his husband David Furnish, campaigner Doreen Lawrence, politician Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley are all bringing legal action against ANL 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.
During his evidence on Wednesday, Prince Harry 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 Prince Harry and lawyers acting on behalf of ANL, he told the 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”.
Prince 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”.
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