Prince Harry testified in a British court that years of not knowing about allegations of privacy violations made by the Associated Papers created a sense of paranoia and strained personal relationships.
Harry, the Duke of Sussex, was in court this week as one of several high-profile names suing Associated Papers, which owns the Daily Mail, over allegations of phone tapping and other invasions of privacy. The publisher denies all allegations of wrongdoing in the lawsuit.
In a written deposition of his testimony, Harry said he was unaware of the Associated Papers’ alleged raids before 2019, when he sought legal advice outside the royal family.
Harry and his wife, Meghan, have sued News Group Newspapers Limited and Associated Papers in recent years.
“Through the investigation of my claim, I became aware of extensive evidence of wrongdoing and subsequent cover-ups at Associated that showed that, not only was it acting outside the law, but it believed it was above it,” Harry said in his testimony. “I am determined to hold Associated accountable, for everyone’s sake.”
Harry said his solicitors learned from private investigators working on behalf of the Associated Papers that it admitted to practices such as hacking voicemails, tapping landlines and obtaining credit card statements. The targets were Harry, his friends and any potential romantic partners in his life, he said.
The prince’s legal team has evidence that it began in 2001 and continued until at least 2013, according to his testimony.
The Associated Papers denied the allegations, saying in a statement Tuesday that the claims appeared to be based on an “alleged confession” by a private investigator. The publisher said the investigator now denies he was instructed to gather information illegally on behalf of the Associated Papers.
Harry referred to the relentless coverage of him and his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy during the holidays and how the leaked information created a “terrifying” situation for the former couple.
“Their behavior and treatment of Chelsy was not normal,” Harry wrote. “I was afraid Chelsy would run the other way or be chased and harassed to death.”
Harry said he went to “extreme” lengths to protect his and his girlfriend’s privacy but in the end the constant invasion of his personal life made relationships “impossible”.
He also alleged that those overseeing the royal family’s interests, called the Institution, had kept him in the dark about any details of the alleged wiretapping. Harry referred to the News of the World phone-tapping case, saying family representatives did not want the princes involved.
“The Institution has made it clear that we don’t need to know anything about phone hacking and has made it clear to me that the Royal Family will not sit in the witness box because that could open a can of worms,” Harry said.
Buckingham Palace declined to comment on Tuesday.
Harry and his wife stepped down from their roles as senior members of the royal family in 2020.
Harry won the right to sue the Associated Papers last year, claiming a newspaper article about his fight with the British government over his security arrangements was defamatory.
The High Court in London also ruled in her husband’s favor against the Associated Papers in 2021 after Meghan sued for parts of a private letter published in The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline.
Judge Mark Warby wrote in his ruling that Meghan “had a reasonable expectation that the contents of the letter would remain private” and that the articles “interfered with that reasonable expectation.”
