Prince Harry v. British tabloids: Why is Prince Harry going to court again against the UK press?
Prince Harry, King Charles III's youngest son, begins his second major court case against the British tabloid industry today. Harry, 40, has accused News Group Newspapers of hacking into his phones.
News Group Newspapers is the publishing company owned by media mogul billionaire Rupert Murdoch. It includes titles like The Sun, The Times and the now-defunct News of the World.
Harry is not alone in claiming News Group illegally hacked phones. News Group has settled over 1,300 claims related to a phone hacking scandal that forced them to close News of the World in 2011.
In the High Court today, Harry is the last claimant remaining to force this case in front of the UK's legal system. It is the sequel to his tirade against the UK's tabloid media.
In response to the way his mother, Princess Diana, was hounded by the press, Harry blames paparazzi interference for her death. Now with his wife, Meghan Markle, regularly attacked by the British tabloids in a similar manner, Harry has started a one-man mission to make the industry accountable.
Harry's tirade against the tabloids
During the 2000s, News of the World published multiple stories that could only be explained through hacked voicemails. One included a 2005 story that Prince Willian, Harry's older brother, had a knee injury.
Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator working for News of the World was sentenced to six months in prison in 2007 for hacking the phones of members of the royal family.
The phone hacking scandal reached its zenith in 2011. After the British police reopened an investigation to the claims and through pressure from investigations in other press outlets, News of the World admitted to hacking phones.
News of the World agreed to multiple settlements to compensate people they had spied on. Former editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks went on trial in 2013. Coulson was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Brooks was acquitted and is now chief executive of Murdoch's British newspaper business.
In 2019, Harry began his fight against the tabloids. He launched three lawsuits against the Mirror Group, News Group, and Associated Newspapers.
In 2023, after becoming the first British royal in a century to testify in a witness box, Harry won the first of these major court cases. He took the Daily Mirror to the High Court for hacking his phone, winning €165,000.
'Today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability,' Harry said in a statement read by his lawyer outside court. 'I've been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today's victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues.'
All this litigation hasn't been at no cost to Harry. Taking the tabloids to court was a move at odds with the royal family's reserved approach to public action.
Harry revealed in court papers that his father opposed his litigation. He also said his older brother William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had received a 'huge sum' to settle a complaint against News Group.
Harry said his tabloid war was central to his fallout with his family.
With the 2023 trial against The Mirror won, Harry could move onto the next two against News of the World and The Sun owned by News Group, and against the Daily Mail, owned by Associated Newspapers.
Harry v. Murdoch
Harry's case against the Murdoch-owned publishing company News Group begins today at the High Court in London. It will likely last around 10 weeks and will see the prince appear in the witness box again for several days in February.
He claims News Group journalists and private investigators they hired violated his privacy by using unlawful tactics to dig up dirt on him and his family between 1996 and 2011.
His fellow claimant, Tom Watson, a former deputy leader of the Labour Party, said his voicemails were intercepted during a period when he was investigating the hacking scandal.
Their lawyer said the newspapers had a widespread practice of using deception to obtain medical, phone and flight records, bugged homes and placed listening devices in cars.
They allege that executives concealed the skulduggery through means that included destroying documents. 'This allegation is wrong, unsustainable, and is strongly denied,' News Group said in a statement.
Former executives accused of playing a role include Will Lewis, now CEO of the Washington Post, and Brooks, the News UK CEO who was tried for her editorial role at News of the World. They have denied wrongdoing.
News Group strongly denies the allegations and it said Harry failed to bring his lawsuit within the required six-year limit.
News Group apologized to News of the World phone hacking victims in 2011. The Sun has never accepted liability.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
8 hours ago
- France 24
More arrests after third night of unrest in N. Ireland town
The three days of clashes in Ballymena erupted on Monday night after two teenagers were arrested for an alleged attempted rape of a young girl at the weekend. Police have not confirmed the ethnicity of the teenagers, who remain in custody and had asked for a Romanian interpreter in court. The crowds eventually dispersed late Wednesday without a repeat of the chaotic scenes seen on Monday and Tuesday when houses and businesses were torched and 32 police officers were injured. But in Larne, around 20 miles (32 kilometres) away, local media reported that masked men on Wednesday torched a leisure centre that was temporarily sheltering people from Ballymena who had been evacuated from their homes. Police condemned Wednesday night's violence, which included a hatchet being thrown at officers, calling it "completely unacceptable disorder". Six more people were arrested, the Police Service of Northern Ireland said. "As a result of a significant policing operation calm was restored to all areas at around 1:00 am (0000 GMT) this morning," the force added. Three teenage boys aged 15, 17 and 18 were due to appear in court on Thursday having been charged with rioting, according to police. A total of 41 officers have now been hurt in the three nights of unrest, the PSNI said, though most of the injuries were not severe. Ministers from every party in the province's power-sharing executive strongly condemned "the racially motivated violence witnessed in recent days", while UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer denounced the "mindless violence". The UK's Northern Ireland minister Hilary Benn, who visited Ballymena on Thursday, said he "utterly condemned the terrible scenes of civil disorder". 'Terrifying' Police called the violence "racist thuggery", deployed riot officers with dogs and asked forces in England and Wales for help quelling the unrest. Assistant Chief Constable Ryan Henderson said Thursday that "this criminal behaviour has no place on the streets of Northern Ireland and is completely unacceptable". On the fire in Larne, police said: "Shockingly, people were inside the building at the time of this fire -– thankfully no injuries were reported." Ballymena residents have described "terrifying" scenes in which attackers had targeted "foreigners" over the previous days. Some people fixed signs to their houses indicating they were Filipino residents, or hung up British flags. Political commentator Alex Kane, a former Ulster Unionist Party communications chief, told AFP "most of those involved in the rioting... were from the working-class loyalist community" who support Northern Ireland remaining part of the UK. "This is a demographic which feels left behind" by various political and social forces, he added. "An unsettled community, particularly when it is mostly composed of the young, is often quick to anger and easy to mobilise on the street. It's a problem which won't disappear any time soon," he warned. While acknowledging the protests were a "bit extreme", college student Lee Stewart described them as necessary "to defend our own people". "We view it as the police aren't doing anything to stop what is going on to those poor wee girls," Stewart, 18, said.
Fashion Network
13 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Dr Martens links with MadeMe again for limited edition Buzz
June 19 sees the debut of the latest Dr Martens collab in which it has linked up with the 'by girls for girls' cult NYC label MadeMe for a second time. The new partnership revives 'the iconic Buzz by fusing '90s rave nostalgia and unapologetic attitude into one standout silhouette,' it said. Founded by Erin Magee, described as 'a pioneering force' and chief creative officer at Supreme, we're told that MadeMe 'brings a bold and nostalgic lens to the collaboration. Known for its rebellious spirit and unapologetic take on female-focused design, MadeMe has long drawn from '90s and '00s punk, skate, and rave culture — influences that align perfectly with the energy of Dr Martens and the Buzz shoe'. So what does this all mean for the latest launch? For SS25, the new edition of the Buzz shoe is made from Hair-On leather in a black and white check. Its upper is enclosed with a single oversized Velcro strap and finished with a rubberised MadeMe bubble logo. Fitted with padded ankle collars for extra cushioning, the shoe is set on the exaggerated curved Buzz outsole with a 'characteristically 90's aesthetic'. The chunky Buzz features a leaf pattern tread and DM's signature yellow welt stitch. Magee said that for her second collab with the British footwear brand, she 'wanted to bring back an under-the-radar silhouette from the late '90s. It felt right for MadeMe: that era was all about women driving culture, music, and style. This version taps into that same raw energy, reimagined for a new generation of it-girls, championing a truly singular and radically instinctive take on girlhood'. The campaign was shot by photographer Roxy Lee, 'a mainstay in London's underground queer club scene and known for her raw, unapologetic style'. It features the founder of GUT Studios and editor-in-chief of GUT magazine Ami Hughes, alongside model Shannon Gendron.
Fashion Network
13 hours ago
- Fashion Network
Sarah Burton celebrates the female gaze in Givenchy debut campaign
Burton has celebrated the female gaze in her debut campaign for Givenchy which stars Kaia Gerber. The American supermodel is the protagonist in a shoot helmed by friend, photographer Halina Reijn, where Gerber plays the role of Reijn's muse in a studio shoot. In effect, the campaign plays on Reijn's multi-disciplinary career as an actress, writer and filmmaker, as well as a photographer. The shoot features looks from Burton's debut Fall 2025 collection for Givenchy, one of nearly a dozen fashion houses owned by the giant French luxury conglomerate LVMH. Burton staged her opening collection for Givenchy in March to great acclaim inside the brand's historic headquarters on avenue George V, in Paris' tony 16th arrondissement. Like the show space, which was stripped down to an all-white setting, the muse and photographer are shot in a minimalist studio set. It is a far cry from Burton's campaigns at her previous job with Alexander McQueen, where she had several campaigns shot on the muddy banks of the Thames at low tide. 'Kaia Gerber and Halina Reijn captured something I love about how creative women collaborate. The idea behind my first campaign for Givenchy was to focus on the friendship between a film director and an actress. I wanted it to celebrate the female gaze,' said Burton in a release. Highlights for Givenchy include the designer's new chic white peplum dress worn with golden heels and dazzling earrings, along with a sexy black lace dress and a sleek sinful red sheath worn with slip-on heels or logo-accented loafers. It is tough romantic chic in a fashionable Entente Cordiale between a British couturier and a premier French fashion marque.
