Prince Harry’s Emotional Crusade Against UK Tabloids
Prince Harry, on the verge of tears, has launched a harsh new attack in his crusade against the UK tabloids in defense of his consort, Meghan, and in memory of his mother, Diana. The Duke of Sussex testified at the High Court in London, stating that the tabloids have “made my wife’s life an absolute hell” and continue to persecute him.
A Long History of Harassment
Harry’s testimony is part of a legal battle against the editorial group of Daily Mail (Associated Newspapers Limited) for alleged serious illegal wiretaps suffered for years, including the use of private investigators and bugging devices. The prince spoke about systematic “stalking” of his wife, “ferocious and persistent attacks” beyond “harassment and invasive, sometimes racist articles”.
Harry presented his struggle as a battle of civilizations in defense of the right to privacy, carried forward in the “public interest”, also on behalf of the “thousands of people” victims of the “greed” shown by newspapers in obtaining information by any means. He underlined how “disgusting” it is to think that any public figure does not have the right to a private life due to the intrusions of the tabloids.
A Personal and Emotional Appeal
After his mother’s death in 1997, when he was 12, and the treatment she received in the press, Harry stressed that he always had a difficult relationship with the tabloids. He referred to the abuse suffered by Princess Diana until the night she lost her life in the car crash in Paris.
The prince testified in court for the second time, after the legal action won against the Mirror group three years ago, when he became the first member of the royal family to testify in court in over a century. However, he maintained a lower profile, in order not to create further embarrassment for the Windsors on a delicate matter and to avoid friction in the reconciliation process focused on rapprochement with the sovereign.
A Fight for the Right to Privacy
Harry limited himself to remembering that he was “conditioned” by the Windsors, when he was still an active member of the Royal Family, to accept the rule of “never complain, never explain”, which has long precluded the possibility of defending oneself against invasions of privacy by the press. This rule no longer exists after his tear from the house in 2020 and the next transfer to the USA with his wife Meghan, which in the meantime has come under increasing scrutiny from the tabloids.
During cross-examination, Harry denied unofficially sharing information with a Mail on Sunday reporter, Charlotte Griffiths. He also rejected the accusation of having created a fictitious Facebook profile called “Mr Mischief” to contact the reporter, “well-connected”, according to the Mail’s lawyer, Anthony White, in the prince’s “social circles”.
The defensive strategy aims to prove that the information underlying the articles under accusation was not obtained through illicit means and also, in some cases, to invoke an expiration of the deadlines for initiating a civil lawsuit. While Harry and the other plaintiffs essentially ask Associated Newspapers Limited for “only an apology and an acknowledgment of responsibility” in a trial that will last about nine weeks before the verdict.
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