This week, Prince Harry traveled to the UK without his wife, Meghan Markle, or their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, to launch another front in his long-running war against the British press. He made an appearance in a London courtroom for his privacy-invasion trial against Associated Newspapers, one of Britain’s largest newspaper companies, and on Wednesday, he took to the witness stand to discuss the case.
The royal family spent most of the 20th century largely avoiding public litigation. Harry, though, has spent years aggressively challenging both the press and the government of his native country, ever since he stopped getting legal advice from Queen Elizabeth II’s lawyers and instead hired his own legal representation.
Harry’s quest began in 2019, shortly after his wife launched her own battle against Associated Newspapers and The Mail on Sunday, alleging that the publisher breached her privacy and copyright. (Meghan would eventually emerge victorious in that lawsuit.) At the tail end of a trip to South Africa, Harry announced that he was suing News Group Newspapers and the Mirror Group, and the following spring, he added that he and Meghan would no longer be cooperating with reporters from many tabloids. His announcement shocked the global media—and would play a pivotal role in the dissolution of Harry’s relationship with his family, which would culminate in Meghan and Harry’s 2020 decision to step back from senior royal duties and move to North America. In June 2023, Harry became the first senior royal to testify in High Court since 1891, when his great-great-great-grandfather Edward VII testified for 20 minutes during a trial.
After more than six years of courtroom struggles, Harry may be getting ready to bury the hatchet. “It’s not a nice experience for anyone to find themselves in court,” a source close to the prince told the Times earlier this month. “But he sees it as a necessary thing to do for a lot of reasons, a continuation of an ongoing mission, and he’s feeling confident going into it. He just wants to get through it and move on.” In the meantime, though, he’s currently involved in two major cases—with four more in the rearview mirror. Here’s a guide to each one.
Harry vs. Mirror Group Newspapers
At issue: Alleged illegal information gathering and phone hacking at The Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People.
Outcome: Harry won on 15 of the 33 claims he had made and was awarded a modest penalty payment of 140,600 British pounds.
Harry signed on to this case in 2019, joining with other British celebrities like former soccer player Ian Wright and the estate of George Michael. Harry’s lawyers alleged that unlawfully gathered information was used in dozens of articles about the prince that had been published between 1996 and 2010. The prince appeared in court for the suit in June 2023 and ultimately testified for two days, describing how the disclosure of private information affected his mental health and his relationship with his then girlfriend, Chelsy Davy. On the stand, Harry said that he joined the lawsuit in order to push back against the assumption that his personal life is open to media scrutiny by default. “There’s a difference between public interest and what interests the public,” he said.
Harry (and Meghan) vs. Paparazzi Agency X17
At issue: Photographs of Archie taken at the home the family borrowed from Tyler Perry.
Erin Vanderhoof
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