The Duke of Sussex was visibly emotional as he as he concluded his evidence at the High Court in his trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail, saying "they have made my wife's life an absolute misery".
The Duke is part of a group of high-profile claimants, which include Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley. They are bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (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.
Prince Harry, 41, spent around two-and-a-half hours answering questions from ANL's barrister on Wednesday, before he was asked how the proceedings had made him feel by his barrister David Sherborne.
The Duke, who was dressed in a blue suit and a striped tie, 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."
Leaving the courtroom, he continued to appear upset, sniffling as he exited through the door.
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 added that the "claim that I don't have any rights to any privacy is disgusting".
© Getty ImagesIn his witness statement for the trial, Harry also said he has always had an "uneasy relationship" with the press, adding: "However, as a member of the institution the policy was to 'never complain, never explain'.
The Duke also attended court on Monday and the start of proceedings on Tuesday, but was seen leaving the Royal Courts of Justice in London during the lunch break.
He was scheduled to give evidence on Thursday, but opening submissions for the claimants and ANL concluded earlier than expected on Tuesday.
A source close to the Duke of Sussex's claim said ahead of his appearance in the witness box: "ANL, publishers of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, and their legal team, have had months to inform the court that their opening argument would last less than two hours, instead, they have had to resort to game playing and dirty tricks – consistent with the way they have treated not just the Duke but all of the victims in this case.”
The source continued: "They think that by pulling the schedule forward 24 hours they are giving Prince Harry less time to prepare – he's been preparing for this moment for the last three years. Safe to say, he's ready."
The trial is due to conclude in March, with a judgment due in writing at a later date.
Meanwhile, Harry's father, King Charles, was back in London to attend a reception in support of Indonesian conservation efforts at Lancaster House, next door to his Clarence House residence, on Wednesday morning. The monarch was joined by the president of Indonesia Prabowo Subianto, with the pair due to have an audience together afterwards at nearby St James's Palace.
© GettyCharles was away in Scotland at the start of the week as his youngest son flew in from California for the start of the trial. Harry is not expected to see his father during his UK visit, with the King following the general principle that a sovereign should steer clear of any active legal proceedings.
Harry denies having 'leaky' social circles
Barristers for ANL claimed in written submissions for the trial that the celebrities bringing legal action had "leaky" social circles, and that information also came from sources including spokespeople and previous reporting.
Responding to this claim, Harry said: "My social circles were not leaky, I want to make that absolutely clear."
He added that if he became suspicious of someone: "I would have to cut contact with this person".
Emotive witness statement
The Duke told how he felt like his "every move, thought or feeling was being tracked and monitored" and how the alleged actions created "distrust and suspicion” and “driv(ing) me paranoid beyond belief, isolating me" in extracts of his witness statement provided on the first day of the trial on Monday.
© Getty ImagesHarry was "caused great distress by each and every episode of UIG (unlawful information gathering) against him by Associated or on its behalf, and the fruits of that UIG in the 14 unlawful articles of which he complains", his barrister David Sherborne said in written submissions.
© GettyThe barrister said that the 14 articles involved in Harry's claim, written between 2001 and 2013 "focus primarily and in a highly intrusive and damaging way, on the relationships which he formed, or rather tried to form, during those years prior to meeting his now wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex".
© Getty ImagesNovember 2005
Buckingham Palace trigger police enquiry alleging News of the World's story on Prince William's knee injury could only have been attained through phone hacking.
January 2007
News of the World private investigator Glenn Mulcaire and royal editor Clive Goodman are sentenced to six and four months respectively for hacking the phones of royal aides. Goodman subsequently admits hacking William's phone 35 times and Princess Kate's over 150 times, but parent company News Corp maintains the pair were rogue employees.
January 2011
Police reopen the investigation after News of the World comes forward with "significant new information".
April 2011
News of the World admits liability for the phone hacking and pays actress Sienna Miller £100,000 in a related settlement. A slew of settlements with various famous people follow.
July 2011
The Guardian alleges News of the World hacked the phone of 13-year-old murder victim Milly Dowler during the police search for her, prompting mass outrage and the closure by Rupert Murdoch of News of the World.
November 2012
British Prime Minister David Cameron instituted the Leveson inquiry into media ethics, which would go on to recommend the creation of an independent press watchdog backed by the government. To date, not all the recommendations have been implemented.
October 2013
Former News of the World editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks are the most prominent defendants to go on trial at the Old Bailey on charges of phone hacking and making illegal payments to officials. The trial lasted eight months and resulted in Coulson being sentenced to 18 months in prison but the acquittal of Brooks.
December 2015
England's chief prosecutor says no more criminal cases will be brought against Murdoch's News Group and rival Mirror Group Newspapers.
2019
Prince Harry launches lawsuits against Murdoch's News Group Newsletters (NGN), the Mirror Group and Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers, claiming stories about his schooldays, teenage japes and former relationships were obtained illegally.
February 2021
Meghan Markle wins invasion of privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers over the publication of a letter she wrote to her estranged father in 2018.
June 2023
In his case against Mirror Group, Prince Harry became the first member of the British royal family since Prince Albert Edward (who would become King Edward VII) in 1891 to appear as a witness in court.
December 2023
Harry wins his case against Mirror Group but later says: "Our mission continues."
January 2025
Prince Harry's five-year-lawsuit against The Sun is over before it begins as the Duke, alongside fellow litigant Lord Tom Watson, reaches a shock settlement with publisher NGN agreeing to pay "substantial damages".
January 2026
Harry's group action against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers over unlawful information gathering begins at the High Court in London.
ANL's response
In court on Tuesday, Antony White KC, for ANL, said the claims against the company were "threadbare" and had been brought too late.
He continued that its journalists provide a "compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing" of the more than 50 articles that are alleged to be the products of unlawful information gathering.
In written submissions, Mr White said the publisher "strongly denies" that there was any unlawful information gathering, including voicemail interception, directed at the Duke.
He continued that the articles "were sourced entirely legitimately from information variously provided by contacts of the journalists responsible, including individuals in the Duke of Sussex's social circle, press officers and publicists, freelance journalists, photographers and prior reports".
Additional reporting by PA.
