Prince Harry's Case

Kensington Palace, the official residence of heir-to-the-throne Prince William, said the prince and his family were away from the London area this week as many schools were out for the Easter holiday. The alleged breaches of privacy include the hacking of cell phone messages, deceitfully obtaining medical records, bribing police officials, and illegally accessing bank records, the statement said. Britain's Home Office, which oversees the country's police forces, ruled in 2020 that Prince Harry's family would not be automatically given the "same degree" of royal security within the U.K. The Home Office also said it wouldn't allow Prince Harry to pay for his own police protection. The Duke of Sussex is one of a half-dozen high-profile figures who allege the newspaper publisher — which owns the Daily Mail, Mail Online and Mail on Sunday — used unlawful information-gathering tactics. It is unclear whether Prince Harry will spend time with members of his family including his father, King Charles III, and brother, Prince William, during his visit to the UK.
Elton John waves to the waiting media as he leaves the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Monday, March 27, 2023. Court proceedings began with a bid by ANL's lawyers to have certain reporting restrictions imposed in the case. Harry arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice on The Strand on Monday after flying to London overnight from the United States, according to the BBC. Mr Burrows also said allegations that he was asked to target Grant, Carole Middleton — the mother of the Princess of Wales — former London mayor Ken Livingstone and Labour peer Lord Mandelson were “false”. In one section cited by Sherborne, Burrows described tapping Hurley’s home phone, hacking her voicemail and digging up travel and medical details on her when she was pregnant. Burrows said that John didn’t have a mobile phone, but he got a lot of information about the singer from Hurley’s phone because she was close friends with him, and through the phone of John’s gardener.

The circus surrounding the royal’s arrival at the high court on the Strand in central London sometimes obscured what was actually going on in Court 76. During an exchange with attorney Sherborne, he suggested that if it did allow a trial, it would be "massive" and could last a "substantial period of time". The judge, Matthew Nicklin, said he would reserve judgment until a later date on whether the case should proceed to trial, and is not expected to rule for some weeks. On Wednesday, the couple also shared that they'd christened their daughter, Princess Lilibet Diana, confirming a change in her royal title, and an expected change for their son, Archie, as well. Lilibet was born last June in Santa Barbara, California, making her the first senior royal baby born in the U.S., and the first great-grandchild of the queen to be born outside of the U.K.
On Tuesday, Harry used the private side entrance that keeps the media at a distance. Video footage of his arrival shows that the prince offered journalists a brief wave before heading into the court house. The claimants include Prince Harry, along with Elton John and his partner, David Furnish, who also attended Monday’s hearing, along with Jude Law’s ex-wife Sadie Frost.

"These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims -- based on no credible evidence -- appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers, some of whom have already pursued cases elsewhere," the publisher said in its statement. Prince Harryreturned to a London court Tuesday for a second day of hearings to see if the phone hacking lawsuit he brought with Elton John and other celebrities can withstand a challenge from the publisher of The Daily Mail. The publisher denies the allegations and said the claims are too old to be brought and information about the phone hacking scandal was so widely known the subjects could have sued years ago. The accusers allege they were victims of “numerous unlawful acts” carried out by the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, including phone hacking and “even commissioning the breaking and entry into private property,” according to extracts of submissions made to the court.
Harry's appearance at the courts on Monday began a privacy debate over the merits of the prince seemingly using his public profile to raise the media focus on the hearing. “With its raw, unflinching honesty, Spare is a landmark publication full of insight, revelation, self-examination, and hard-won wisdom about the eternal power of love over grief,” the publisher’s description reads. The lawsuit against MGN similarly alleges unlawful information gathering via phone hacking. Other claimants include former Girls Aloud band member Cheryl, the estate of the late singer George Michael, and ex-footballer and presenter Ian Wright. Monday’s lawsuit is one of three the Duke of Sussex has launched against British newspapers. An additional lawsuit filed in 2019 against Mirror Group Newspapers by several public figures including Harry will go to trial in May.
Harry brought the ongoing privacy lawsuit against Mail publishers in October 2022 with a collective of high-profile British co-claimants. These include Sir Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence and the actress Elizabeth Hurley. When he arrived at the court's main entrance on Monday, Harry was met by a group of media members and photographers covering his lawsuit. This resulted in the royal bumping into one photographer as he tried to make his way to the door.

"Those categorical denials were believed by a number of individuals who bring claims," he told the court on the fourth and final day of the preliminary hearing, adding only recent discoveries had turned their suspicions into grounds for action. Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled on Wednesday that Harry's case, which alleges unlawful information gathering on behalf of MGN journalists between 1996 and 2011, should be part of the trial. "When Diana died, she didn't have police protection. She had a private security team at that point," said Victoria Murphy, ABC News royal contributor. "And I think it's very clear that Prince Harry feels that the police protection is superior and that that is what he wants for his family."
Prince Harry returned to a London court Tuesday for a second day of hearings to see if the phone hacking lawsuit he brought with Elton John and other celebrities can withstand a challenge from the publisher of The Daily Mail. A London judge said Thursday he would rule as soon as possible on whether to throw out or limit a phone hacking lawsuit brought by Prince Harry, Elton John and other well-known figures against a British tabloid publisher. Beltrami also said the claims were made ‘too late’, with some allegations dating back three decades, arguing that there is typically a six-year time limit on bringing claims. He added that the claims ‘are rejected by the defendant in their entirety.’ Prince Harry maintains he was unaware that he was allegedly targeted by private investigators until his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, sued the Mail on Sunday in 2018. Meanwhile, he is also one of several high-profile figures bringing damages claims against Mirror Group Newspapers over alleged unlawful information gathering. The trial is set to begin on May 9 — just three days after his father's coronation.
Harry's ongoing battle against the press comes ahead of King Charles' May coronation, which he and wife Meghan Markle, have since been invited to, despite tension between the couple and the firm. Since moving to California, the Sussexes have relied on a privately-funded security team, but Harry's legal team has said they hope to expand that soon. Prince Harry has scored an early victory in his legal battle to ensure he and his family are protected by security when they are in the U.K.