Prince Harry court – live: Duke hits out at Piers Morgan ‘intimidation’ and James Hewitt rumours

Prince Harry lashed out at Piers Morgan and tabloid rumours that his father was James Hewitt, as the Duke of Sussex underwent a historic five-hour grilling in his High Court case against the Daily Mirror’s publisher.

Becoming the first royal to enter a witness box in 130 years, he described “horrific personal attacks and intimidation” from the former Mirror editor, and suggested newspaper stories claiming his father was Princess Diana’s former lover were aimed at ousting him from the royal family.

Harry is suing Mirror Group Newspapers for damages, claiming journalists at its titles were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or gaining information by deception, and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.

In his 55-page witness statement, the duke stoked a political storm by denouncing the government and the press as at “rock bottom”, as he questioned: “How much more blood will stain their typing fingers before someone can put a stop to this madness?”

Just hours after exiting the witness box in London, the duke now faces a second legal headache as his US visa is challenged in a Washington court, after he admitted illegal drug use in his memoir Spare.

Key Points

• Duke of Sussex facing battle on second front as US visa challenge to get under way

• At a glance: Key moments from Prince Harry’s historic testimony at the High Court

• Full report: Harry stokes Tory fury as he claims press and government at ‘rock bottom’

• Duke suggests tabloid rumours James Hewitt is his father ‘were to oust him from royal family’ ...

• ... And accuses Piers Morgan of ‘horrific attacks and intimidation’ against him and Meghan Markle

• Harry denies entering ‘realms of total speculation’ in cross-examination

Harry is ‘fighting the wrong battle’, royal historian claims

09:12 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry “is fighting the wrong battle” and is “very unlikely” to succeed in his lifelong ambition to curtail the worst excesses of the tabloid press, a royal historian has claimed.

Asked what he made of yesterday’s proceedings, Sir Anthony Seldon said: “Sadly predictable. History would show that the royal family cannot beat, or even curtail, the media, and attempts to do so don’t end up happily.

“But if the royals get on – and I know he’s not a working royal at the moment – but history would show that where they get on and do their jobs and show a sense of service to other people and put other people first, not their own interests first, then the media will tend to report them favourably.

“So that would suggest that Harry is fighting the wrong battle, and whether he wins this or indeed loses, he might well end up losing and he is very unlikely to be able to succeed in what he said is his lifelong ambition, which is to sort out the tabloid media.”

Describing the Duke of Sussex as “at his best” when using his “superlative gifts at reaching people” to help those with physical and mental health problems, he told Sky News: “I think everyone understands the deep anguish and pain that he feels with his own mother, and his own childhood, but is this really the battle that he wants to fight? Is this how he wants to use his extraordinary talents and reach?”

Watch live: Prince Harry expected to arrive at High Court for second day of testimony

08:55 , Andy Gregory

Harry ‘damaging’ his reputation, says Rees-Mogg

08:35 , Matt Mathers

Jacob Rees-Mogg has joined senior Tories in attacking Prince Harry over the High Court case – claiming his “attacks on journalists seem to swing between paranoid and hysterical”, Adam Forrest reports.

“The Royal Family is always ill-advised to go to court,” said Rees-Mogg on GB News programme. He claimed Harry’s decision to “let daylight in” was a “fundamental error”.

He added “It is damaging rather than enhancing Prince Harry’s reputation ... Freedom of the press is one of our great constitutional safeguards.” Rees-Mogg also said Harry’s attack on the “rock bottom” government was “ill-advised”.

It follows furious Tory MPs firing back at Harry’s “unwise” comments – urging him to “stand for election” if he wanted to be politician.

Former Tory minister Andrea Jenkyns told The Independent was “a good job he lives in America. He shouldn’t be intervening in British politics – that’s not his role”

And Tory MP Henry Smith told The Independent: “It’s very unwise of him to stray into British political comment – but if he wants to he should renounce his title and stand for election.”

Piers Morgan: Good luck with your privacy campaign, Harry

08:15 , Matt Mathers

Piers Morgan sarcastically wished Prince Harry “good luck” with his privacy campaign, saying he looked forward to reading about it in the duke’s “next book”.

Harry claims Mr Morgan was aware of phone-hacking and illegal information gathering taking place at the now-defunct News of the World when he was editor of the paper.

Mr Morgan denies the claims.

Mr Morgan said he “didn’t see it” when a reporter asked him about comments made by Harry in court yesterday in which he described the presenter’s alleged behaviour as “vile and unjustified”.

Prince Harry’s court comments have given press ‘further ammunition’ to attack him

07:58 , Matt Mathers

Prince Harry has given the press further “ammunition” to attack him over comments he made about the government, a Tory peer has said.

The Duke of Sussex yesterday claimed the government had hit “rock bottom” and also lashed out at the press.

“He’s not going to get a fair hearing from the press,” Ed Vaizey told ITV Good Morning Britain. “Clearly it is Prince Harry versus the press”.

Watch more of Lord Vaizey’s interview here:

Prince Harry back in witness box

07:29 , Matt Mathers

Prince Harry is due back in the witness box later this morning in his legal battle with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

The Duke of Sussex lashed out at the media and government yesterday in his first appearance at the trial.

He is expected to appear at London’s High Court after 10.30am.

Former Mirror Royal Editor Jane Kerr is due to give evidence once the duke has concluded.

The hearing is in Court 15 of the Rolls Building, Fetter Lane, with an overspill in Court 14.

Judge gives Biden administration a week to decide on release of Prince Harry’s visa records

Wednesday 7 June 2023 00:10 , Gustaf Kilander

A judge in DC federal court has asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to decide within a week how it will handle a Freedom of Information request from the conservative Heritage Foundation for the immigration records of the Duke of Sussex.

DHS has so far not responded to the request, prompting legal action from the foundation, in which they pointed to Prince Harry’s previous admissions of drug use, such as in his memoir Spare.

The department argued that an injunction to force DHS to expedite the request shouldn’t go ahead as the foundation hasn’t shown how they will suffer irreparable harm if the information isn’t shared.

Representing the government, Assistant US Attorney John Bardo argued on Tuesday that it wouldn’t make a difference when the request was handled, even if the response came a year from now.

The Heritage Foundation said the interest in Prince Harry’s immigration status would wain.

Read more:

Judge gives Biden admin a week to decide on release of Prince Harry’s visa records

Sunak declines to comment on Harry’s broadside at government

Tuesday 6 June 2023 23:45 , Sam Rkaina

Rishi Sunak has refused to be drawn into a war of words with the Duke of Sussex over his claim the Government had hit “rock bottom”.

The Prime Minister told reporters travelling with him to Washington: “As you know, we have a long-standing convention that prime ministers don’t comment on members of the royal family.”

Why is a US think-tank seeking the release of Prince Harry’s visa application form?

Tuesday 6 June 2023 23:12 , Andy Gregory

In addition to his various legal battles in the UK, a challenge concerning Prince Harry’s right to live in the United States is also set to get under way in Washinton DC on Tuesday, concerning revelations of illegal drug-taking in his memoir Spare.

The Heritage Foundation, a conservative US think-tank, is bringing a case against the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) appealing for the release of the duke’s visa application, submitted in advance of his relocation to California in January 2020.

If the duke’s application were to be published and reveal that his answers contradicted his later public revelations about his dalliances with drugs, the case would call into question the Biden administration’s handling of the visa application process, the organisation contends.

My colleague Joe Sommerlad has this explainer on the case:

Why is a US think-tank seeking the release of Prince Harry’s visa application form?

Sketch | Harry, the people’s prince, takes on the tabloid empire

Tuesday 6 June 2023 22:39 , Andy Gregory

Our political sketch writer Tom Peck has been at the High Court today, and notes that whatever state of breathless anticipation had been achieved by today’s blockbuster event did not last for long.

He writes: “Even with the most celebrated characters, courtroom dramas need a higher-octane plot than this one.

“Prince Harry is, almost certainly, one of more than a thousand victims of “unlawful information-gathering” by the tabloid press. But he is one of a vanishingly small number who are refusing to be paid off, and he was absolutely determined to have his day in court. This was it.

“But the problem is, it’s really all rather slow. The whole point of the cruelty of phone-hacking, as everybody even faintly interested in the subject knows by now, is that what might seem like a whole load of trivial tittle-tattle about the lives of famous people had profoundly damaging effects on its victims, who couldn’t work out how it was that photographers and reporters knew what they’d been doing – or worse, where to find them – and so stopped trusting even their closest friends and family.

“Its seriousness is not to be underestimated. But it does lead to this: many long hours of listening to Prince Harry being asked in great detail about, for example, who did or didn’t know this or that about a lunch in Pizza Express in Fulham in the late Nineties, or where he and his brother did or didn’t go on a rock-climbing holiday, or what happened on his gap year in Australia, or what the school nurse said to him when he broke his thumb at Eton.”

Harry, the people’s prince, takes on the tabloid empire | Tom Peck

Judge asks US government to decide within a week on handing over Prince Harry’s visa records

Tuesday 6 June 2023 22:11 , Andy Gregory

My colleague Gustaf Kilander reports from Washington:

A judge in DC federal court asked the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to decide within a week how it will handle a Freedom of Information request from the conservative Heritage Foundation for the immigration records of the Duke of Sussex.

DHS has so far not responded to the request, prompting legal action from the foundation.

Representing the government, Assistant US Attorney John Bardo argued on Tuesday that it wouldn’t make a difference when the request was handled, even if the response came a year from now.

Large parts of the hearing centred on the amount of media attention on Prince Harry and his supposed drug use which some legal experts say would have barred him from entering the US.

Mr Bardo argued that sufficient coverage from mainstream US media was required for a request to be expedited. He mentioned outlets such as The New York Times, The Washington Post, and the TV networks.

Heritage lawyer Samuel Dewey meanwhile, argued in front of Judge Carl Nichols that DHS regulations simply say “media” without specifying where the outlets are based.

He went on to argue that today’s media is global, noting that The Daily Mail had 100 million page views in the US in the month of April.

Speaking to reporters outside the DC federal courthouse, Mr Dewey said that Prince Harry had foregone his right to privacy after his series of highly publicised interviews and Netflix documentary series.

Prince Harry faces legal headache across the Atlantic – just hours after High Court grilling

Tuesday 6 June 2023 21:46 , Andy Gregory

Just hours after his five-hour court grilling in London, Prince Harry is facing another legal headache some 3,500 miles away – this time concerning his right to live in the United States.

The US government is set to be challenged in court today over its decision not to disclose the reasoning behind admitting the Duke of Sussex into the country, despite his admissions of illegal drug use.

Following Harry’s reference to taking cocaine, marijuana and psychedelic mushrooms in his memoir Spare, the conservative Heritage Foundation think-tank questioned why he was allowed into the US in 2020.

After its Freedom of Information Act request was rejected, the Washington group brought a lawsuit against the Department for Homeland Security (DHS) – claiming it was of “immense public interest”.

Both parties are gearing up to argue the case in a federal court for the first time in Washington DC on Tuesday.

Harry’s US visa challenged in court after prince admits drug abuse in book

Who is David Sherborne? The A-list barrister representing Prince Harry in his legal battles

Tuesday 6 June 2023 21:16 , Andy Gregory

With A-list clients including Paul McCartney and Johnny Depp, barrister David Sherborne is no stranger to high-profile cases, my colleague Matt Mathers reports.

He has even represented the late Princess Diana – and now it’s Prince Harry’s turn, as the Duke of Sussex takes his long-running battle with the British press to the High Court.

A US-native, Mr Sherborne came to attention in the UK again for his role in the Levenson Inquiry, representing a host of celebrities who had their phones hacked by the now-defunct News of the World.

Mr Sherborne also represented Coleen Rooney in her “Wagatha Christie” libel action against Rebekah Vardy – a case that also attracted significant media attention.

Fellow lawyers who watched Mr Sherborne’s three-day cross-examination of Ms Vardy last year witnessed the best and worst of his style, reportedly describing it as a mixture of “undoubted charm”, “showboating” and “frequently p***ing off the judge”.

All we know about A-list lawyer representing Prince Harry in his legal battles

Full report: Prince Harry launches astonishing attack on ‘rock bottom’ government and ‘bloodstained’ press

Tuesday 6 June 2023 20:48 , Andy Gregory

My colleagues Joe Middleton and Adam Forrest have this comprehensive report on today’s historic proceedings, which saw Prince Harry rail against Britain’s government and press as he became the first royal to testify in court since 1981, against the publisher of the Daily Mirror.

Abandoning the convention that royals do not comment on politics, the Duke of Sussex said both Rishi Sunak’s administration and the media were at “rock bottom” and that it was harming British democracy.

The royal claimed the government was “scared” of alienating British newspapers “because position is power”, and in a scathing broadside accused journalists of having “blood” staining their “typing fingers”.

It prompted some Tory MPs to call for Harry to renounce his title, arguing he had broken the “golden rule” of royals not getting involved in politics.

Harry alleges that 140 articles published between 1996 and 2010 contained information Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) gathered using unlawful methods. But lawyers for MGN suggested the royal’s claims of phone hacking are “in the realms of total speculation”.

You can read the full report here:

Harry launches scathing attack on ‘rock bottom’ government and ‘bloodstained’ press

Key moments from Prince Harry’s testimony

Tuesday 6 June 2023 20:20 , Andy Gregory

The Duke of Sussex’s historical appearance in a High Court witness box today revealed a host of claims about his life, the behaviour of the press and the impact of media scrutiny on him, as he sat through nearly five hours of questioning. Here are some of the key moments:

• Prince Harry said he felt “physically sick” over detective payments about Diana, stating that he was “shocked and appalled” by the number of payments made by MGN titles to private investigators, including eight in relation to his mother.

• Journalists’ alleged actions “affected every area” of duke’s life, he said, claiming that phone hacking and “other unlawful means” of obtaining private information about he and his associates not only created “a huge amount of distress but presented very real security concerns for not only me but also everyone around me”.

• Harry said he had ‘huge amount of paranoia’ after alleged press intrusion, and had lost friendships “entirely unnecessarily” due to the “paranoia” caused by alleged unlawful information-gathering.

• He accused the press having “blood” staining their “typing fingers”, with some responsible for causing pain, upset and death. He branded journalists the “mothership of online trolling”, saying: “People have died as a result and people will continue to kill themselves by suicide when they can’t see any other way out.”

• Calling on journalists “to expose those people in the media that have stolen or hijacked the privileges and powers of the press”, the royal claimed that the state of the UK’s press and government are both “at rock bottom”, claiming politicians are “scared to hold [the media] accountable”.

• The duke suggested that rumours his real father was Diana’s former lover James Hewitt were aimed at “ousting” him from the royal family, referring to a 2002 article in The People which reported a bid to steal a sample of the duke’s DNA to check his parentage.

• Harry alleged that former Mirror editor Piers Morgan had been intimidating him and his wife since he launched legal proceedings against the publisher, saying the presenter had subjected he and his wife “to a barrage of horrific personal attacks”.

• The duke was challenged in court over discrepancies between his autobiography Spare and his witness statement over whether he wanted to meet ex-royal butler Paul Burrell, whom he admitted branding a “two-faced shit”.

• Harry said he was “extremely worried” about being expelled from Eton after news articles about his use of illegal drugs.

Harry claims sources in royal stories can be ‘completely made up'

Tuesday 6 June 2023 19:49 , Andy Gregory

During cross-examination today, Prince Harry claimed that sources in royal stories are sometimes “completely made up”.

Asked by barrister Andrew Green about whether a statement being put out about a possible meeting between Harry, Prince William and their mother’s former butler Paul Burrell meant that royal advisers appreciated it was a “matter in the public interest”, the duke replied: “No, I don’t believe so.”

The barrister then took him to another article in a different publication about the possible meeting, written by royal commentator Robert Jobson, who Mr Green referred to as being regarded as a “royal specialist”.

Taking exception to that description, the duke said: “He is not regarded as a specialist, no.”

Asked about Mr Jobson’s story coming from his sources, Harry went on to say: “I wouldn’t necessarily call them sources. I’m not exactly sure what his connections are but, based on what he has written, they may be imaginary sources.”

The duke said he had not closely followed the press reporting of the story at the time, having been “in the middle of the Australian bush at the time”, adding: “Considering what I was trying to do ... get on with a gap year as a jackaroo, it wasn’t a priority.”

Asked further by Mr Green about Mr Jobson’s article, Harry said: “I would suggest based on the byline this whole article should be taken with a pinch of salt.”

In response to a further question from Mr Justice Fancourt about whether he meant sources in royal stories were “unreliable people” or that they did not exist, the duke replied: “From my experience, my lord, it differs.

“Sometimes the source is real and exists, and sometimes the source is completely made up.”

Harry quips about ‘workout’ from court papers as he gives evidence

Tuesday 6 June 2023 19:21 , Tony Jones, PA

The Duke of Sussex grappled with paperwork when he stepped into the witness box and was cross-examined over his claims tabloid newspapers used unlawful information-gathering for royal stories about him.

Harry was a measured, quiet and suited figure when he began giving evidence, with nearby barristers surrounded by boxes of folders.

He was afforded the courtesy of being called “Your Royal Highness” when first mentioned, after his barrister David Sherborne said protocol was something that “concerned” the High Court but was not an issue for Harry, whose “personal preference” was to be called “Prince Harry”.

The court looked more like a busy office, with computer screens on many of the tables, including Harry’s, and he spoke quietly at first, which left some on the press benches struggling to hear every word.

With newspaper articles examined line by line, page references for the bundles – the name for court documents – were given, but at times the royal struggled to find his place on the page.

Mr Green often asked “do you see that?” and the reply from the duke came back “no”.

After Harry appeared to quip about the bundles he was continually holding, saying “got me doing a workout”, it was suggested High Court staff could help him find references and he was later joined in the witness box by a helper.

Harry says he wants to ‘spare’ friends from testifying in court

Tuesday 6 June 2023 18:54 , PA

Earlier, the Duke of Sussex told the court that he wanted to “spare” his friends from the experience of giving evidence in court.

Harry faced questions over a January 2005 Daily Mirror article that reported his then girlfriend Chelsy Davy was “furious he flirted with a mystery brunette” at a party at which the duke wore a “nazi swastika armband” and that Ms Davy “gave him a tongue-lashing down the phone”.

Andrew Green KC, for MGN, said there was “nothing unlawful” about the article’s author speaking to people who were at the party, to which the duke replied: “No, if that’s indeed what she did.”

Mr Green told the court that one quote in the story was attributed to “a pal”, but it had been revealed that the source was Ms Davy’s uncle.

In his written witness statement, the duke said: “The article contains several quotes from ‘friends’ or other ‘partygoers’, but the details about our telephone communications are not attributed to anyone, so how could the defendant’s journalists know about this?”

Commenting on the quote attribution in court, Harry said it was “what I would do if I was doing something illegal”, adding that the article was trying to “distract” from the “true means of obtaining the information”.

Elsewhere in his witness statement, Harry said it “seems obvious” from call data relating to the mobile phone of Guy Pelly that journalists were “digging round my associates to gain private information about me”.

Mr Green asked if the duke was inferring that there was a message on Mr Pelly’s phone about him being given a tongue lashing, to which he replied: “Possibly.”

The MGN barrister asked a question over why Mr Pelly was not giving evidence, with Harry saying in reply that he wanted “to spare most of my friends from this experience”.

Prince Harry waves as he leaves court

Tuesday 6 June 2023 18:29 , Andy Gregory

The Duke of Sussex did not answer questions from reporters as he left the Rolls Building after giving evidence.

Harry smiled and gave a small wave to some people waiting outside as he exited at 4.53pm before getting into a Range Rover.

Any advantage of being ‘Prince Harry’ flipped on its head by tabloid coverage, duke suggests

Tuesday 6 June 2023 18:10 , Andy Gregory

The Duke of Sussex told the court today that “whatever advantage people claimed I had by walking into a room as ‘Prince Harry’ was immediately flipped on its head”.

In his witness statement, the duke said this was “because I was facing judgments and opinions based on what had been reported about me, true or not”, adding: “I expected people to be thinking ‘he’s obviously going to fail this test, because he’s a thicko’.

“It meant that I felt that I never went in at the same level as everybody else because the spotlight was always on me.”

The duke added: “Having seen me grow up from a baby, being born into this ‘contractual relationship’ without any choice, and scrutinised my every move, the tabloids have known the challenges and mental health struggles that I have had to deal with throughout my childhood and adult life, and for them to then play on that and use it to their own advantage, I think is, well, criminal.”

Harry later said: “There also seems to be a real blurring of the lines in terms of what is in the public interest and what is of interest to the public. The tabloids concentrated on salacious stories about my relationships and so on to satisfy the latter while appearing to completely ignore the former, as a means of justifying their intrusion.”

Sky News hires actor to portray Harry’s court testimony

Tuesday 6 June 2023 17:52 , Andy Gregory

Following Prince Harry’s appearance today, Sky News has hired an actor to portray a re-enactment of the Duke of Sussex in court.

Watch: Prince Harry leaves court after giving evidence in MGN battle

Tuesday 6 June 2023 17:38 , Andy Gregory

Court finishes for day as Harry’s voice cracks over ‘distressing’ Chelsy Davy story

Tuesday 6 June 2023 17:29 , Andy Gregory

The court finished for the day shortly after 4.30pm, with Mr Justice Fancourt telling Harry he must not discuss his evidence with anyone overnight.

Barrister Andrew Green KC concluded his cross-examination for the day by asking the duke about a 2005 article in the Sunday People about his then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy being on her gap year.

The duke appeared emotional as he responded to a question from Mr Green about when he first saw the article.

Harry’s voice seemed to crack as he replied: “I can’t remember when I first saw this article, but having to look at it now and see the level of detail ... is extra distressing.”

Harry quizzed over memory of phone call with William about ‘two-faced s***’ Paul Burrell

Tuesday 6 June 2023 17:17 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has admitted he and his brother William disagreed about their mother’s former butler Paul Burrell as he was asked about an article of the type he said caused “distrust”, as he was asked about supposed discrepancies in his autobiography and witness statement.

In cross-examination, barrister Andrew Green KC, for MGN, asked Harry about an article published in December 2003 about a possible meeting between himself, William and Mr Burrell.

In the article Harry was said to be firmly against meeting Mr Burrell and described him as a “two-faced s***”, and the duke said: “Those are words that I used and I certainly left voicemails on my brother’s phone.”

Mr Green asked: “Using that phrase?”, to which Harry replied: “Yes.”

The barrister then asked about a discrepancy between the duke’s witness statement, in which he says he “didn’t want to hear” Mr Burrell’s reasons for selling some of Diana’s possessions and giving interviews about her, and his memoir Spare, in which he says he wanted to fly home from his gap year job in the Australian outback to meet the former butler.

Harry said there was a “rather large [time] gap” between the article and writing his book.

Asked by Mr Green whether his “true” position was that, at the time, he did or did not want a meeting with Mr Burrell, the duke replied: “I honestly can’t remember whether I wanted a meeting or not.”

The barrister asked: “Is it your position that you do actually remember leaving a voicemail on William’s phone saying that?”, to which the duke responded: “I was leaving voicemails for my brother and that is the terminology I used for Burrell.”

However, he said he did not specifically recall leaving William a voice message saying that.

Harry says thought of Piers Morgan ‘listening to Diana’s private messages’ makes him physically sick

Tuesday 6 June 2023 16:56 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has said the thought of Piers Morgan and reporters at the Daily Mirror “earwigging into my mother’s private and sensitive messages” made him “physically sick”.

The High Court phone hacking trial heard on Monday that letters between Princess Diana and former television entertainer Michael Barrymore about their “highly sensitive meetings” show her private exchanges had been intercepted.

In his written witness statement in court on Tuesday, the Duke of Sussex said he was “shocked, disgusted and appalled” when he was shown the letters and said it was “safe to assume” his mother and Mr Barrymore would have been exchanging voicemails about their private meetings.

Harry said: “The thought of Piers Morgan and his band of journalists earwigging into my mother’s private and sensitive messages, in the same way as they have me, and then having given her a ‘nightmare time’ three months prior to her death in Paris, makes me feel physically sick and even more determined to hold those responsible, including Mr Morgan, accountable for their vile and entirely unjustified behaviour.”

My colleague Joe Middleton reports:

Harry says thought of Piers Morgan ‘listening to Diana’s messages’ makes him sick

Harry asked about school parade story quoting Eton spokesperson

Tuesday 6 June 2023 16:36 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has been questioned about a three-line Mirror article in 2003 about him leading cadets at an Eton parade, which the barrister for Mirror Group Newspapers said stemmed from a St James Palace press release.

The MGN barrister said the Press Association news agency had reported about Harry leading the tattoo on the same day as the press release and had quoted an Eton spokesperson.

The court heard from Harry that he also complained about a Mirror article published on the same day about the same story.

He said he had brought a claim for damages over the articles “based on the legal advice that I have been given”.

In his written witness statement, he said of the journalist who wrote the second cadet parade story “that at least one of his bylined articles has previously been admitted by MGN to have been the product of unlawful information-gathering”.

Live: Outside London court where Prince Harry gave evidence on UK tabloids

Tuesday 6 June 2023 16:24 , Andy Gregory

Our video team has this live footage from outside the court where Prince Harry has been giving evidence in his case against Mirror Group Newspapers – becoming the first royal to undergo cross-examination in court in 130 years.

Barrister suggests Harry must ‘maintain focus’

Tuesday 6 June 2023 16:13 , Tara Cobham

A barrister has suggested Prince Harry must “maintain focus” as she speaks of how “tough” cross-examination is but also of how significant it is to a case.

Samantha Woodham, Barrister at 4PB, explained: “It will be crucial in Prince Harry’s case for him to succeed in respect of the particular allegations he is making, so maintain focus on those.”

She described cross-examination as “tough” and said: “Barristers often say that the height of their case is the moment immediately before their client takes the stand, because if weaknesses in a case are going to be exposed, it will be during cross-examination.”

‘False information’ put in articles ‘to put people off scent’, says Harry

Tuesday 6 June 2023 15:58 , Tara Cobham

The Duke of Sussex claimed that “a lot of false information” was put into articles “to put people like myself off the scent”.

He told the court this was done to “cover up the true unlawful means” and that while some elements were true, this was “clouded, shrouded” by the false information.

Harry rejects suggestion royal aide fed information to press

Tuesday 6 June 2023 15:57 , Tara Cobham

Under continuing cross-examination, the Duke of Sussex rejected a suggestion that a royal aide was behind information given to the press about his gap year experience in Australia.

Harry was questioned by Mr Green about an article entitled “Harry is ready to quit Oz” published in the Mirror in September 2003.

Mr Green said it appeared that information about Harry “watching TV and videos” – which the duke said in his written statement was a bid to avoid camera crews – came from aide Mark Dyer.

“It doesn’t appear that way,” the duke said, later adding: “I don’t accept that Mr Dyer was freely speaking to the press.”

Mr Green said to Harry that “the information that you are alleging came from voicemail interception or unlawful information-gathering … in fact came from your minders”.

Harry said he saw similarities in reports by other newspapers, adding that the coverage showed: “The level of interest and fascination with my life even when I’m in the middle of the Australian outback.”

Harry’s memoir shows ‘many routes’ for information about him to leak to media, says Mirror lawyer

Tuesday 6 June 2023 15:18 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has been pressed on a passage in his autobiography Spare which the Mirror publisher’s barrister suggested showed “there have always been many different routes” for information about him to find its way to the media.

In cross-examination, Andrew Green KC asked the duke about a section in the book in which he said “a school mate must have told someone who told someone” a story about him having a haircut which was subsequently reported by the press.

Harry told the court: “As a young man in my teenage years, I never suspected my phone was being hacked or those around me being hacked ... I could never have imagined it.”

He added that some of his book was written “with hindsight” and “based on my memories of that time in my life, firstly as a young man, secondly as a soldier in the army and thirdly as a husband and father”.

But Mr Green said the duke’s reference in his memoir to a school mate “reflects the reality that, because of who you are and were, there have always been many different routes by which information about you ... is and has been communicated to the press”.

Harry responded: “Now, some many years later, it seems that probably wasn’t the case and sadly a lot of those friends who I became paranoid with at the time, they are no longer friends.”

Harry denies entering ‘realms of total speculation’

Tuesday 6 June 2023 15:11 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has denied wandering into “the realms of total speculation” as he was grilled over an article he claimed was likely obtained through unlawful means by The Mirror – despite the story being reported by the Press Association news agency the previous day, which quoted a St James’s Palace spokesperson.

The duke said he was not aware that the information about his thumb in a November 2000 story titled: “Snap: Hary breaks thumb like William” had been reported by PA the previous day.

He was then asked whether he had expressed concerns to other media outlets that reported the same story at the time, including the BBC, to which he responded he had not because unlawful information-gathering was “not systemic” at those titles.

But Harry said he believed information in the Mirror article which was obtained through unlawful means included a paragraph stating that doctors had told him he could not play football for a few weeks, alleging that this had affected him as a “young man at school” who could not now “trust the doctors” there.

Asked if he believed details in the Mirror article by its then-royal editor Jane Kerr, who is due to give evidence on Wednesday, resulted from unlawful information-gathering, Harry replied: “I believe it was, either probably herself or she got someone else to do her dirty work for her.”

Pressed on whose phone he believes was hacked to find out the information, he said: “The doctor’s? I am not sure.”

Asked by barrister Andrew Green whether he was “not in the realms of total speculation”, Harry replied: “No, I do not believe so.”

Prince Harry suggests tabloid rumours James Hewitt is his father ‘were to oust him from royal family’

Tuesday 6 June 2023 14:54 , Andy Gregory

Earlier today, Prince Harry suggested to the court that tabloid rumours his biological father was James Hewitt were an attempt at ousting him from the Royal Family.

In his witness statement, Harry referred to an article in The People from 2002 with the headline “Plot to rob the DNA of Harry” which reported a bid to steal a sample of the duke’s DNA to check his parentage.

Diana had a five-year affair with cavalry officer Major James Hewitt between 1986 and 1991, with the princess publicly confessing to the relationship during her controversial BBC Panorama interview in 1995.

Harry described the stories about the rumours as “cruel”, saying he was 18 at the time of the article and had lost his mother just a few years earlier.

“They were hurtful, mean and cruel. I was always left questioning the motives behind the stories,” he said. “Were the newspapers keen to put doubt into the minds of the public so I might be ousted from the royal family?” My colleague Joe Middleton has the full report:

Harry claims tabloid James Hewitt rumours ‘were plan to oust him from royal family’

No evidence palace did not ‘freely’ give information for glandular fever article, says MGN lawyer

Tuesday 6 June 2023 14:41 , Andy Gregory

Royal spokespeople “rarely ever commented on private matters”, with public statements “only preserved for major events”, Prince Harry has told the court.

The Duke of Sussex made the comments amid questioning over a March 2002 article in the Daily Mirror about him contracting glandular fever, headlined, “Harry’s sick with kissing disease”.

Mirror Group Newspapers barrister Andrew Green said the article, which reported the diagnosis came before the duke’s annual ski trip with his father and brother, contains quotes from a palace spokeswoman about the duke taking doctors’ advice.

The MGN barrister said the story was covered in other newspapers, adding there was no evidence that information from the palace “was not put out freely”.

In his written witness statement, the duke said: “I do not believe that the palace put this information out freely.” In court, Mr Green said Harry was inviting the court to assume the article came from “nefarious activity” by a journalist.

Harry said he was “very suspicious” about information in the article, adding it was “highly personal” and “distressing”.

Harry grilled over article about he and William’s rock climbing trip

Tuesday 6 June 2023 14:26 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry is now being questioned about an article which reported that he and his brother were going rock climbing rather than attending a gala for the late Queen Mother.

MGN lawyer Andrew Green KC asked Harry if it was his case that came from unlawful voicemail interception, and asked whose phone the duke believed was hacked in order to get that information – to which Harry replied that “it could have been anyone, from myself, my brother” or two other people.

Asked which information he thought had been obtained unlawfully, Harry said: “There’s quite a lot of aspects, quotes and information in there, not to mention a large part of the reason we were going rock climbing 270 miles away was to get away from press intrusion.”

Harry said he was but that it was “impossible to believe” MGN’s denial that one if its suppliers was involved in any unlawful information-gathering given the level of interest in him as well as in the royal family, and how “desperate journalists were for anything royal”.

Mr Green then referred to a Daily Mail article about the same rock climbing trip, published two days before the Mirror article, which said Buckingham Palace had confirmed the princes’ absence from the gala.

Harry said the palace would have answered “in response to a question, which one might be suspicious about, I suggest”.

Mr Green then put to Harry that a Mail On Sunday article published the day before the Mirror one was “in substance, the very same private information that you are complaining about in the Daily Mirror, isn’t it?”, to which the duke replied: “It is one element of it, yes.”

Given these two articles in the days prior to the Mirror story, the barrister asked whether the duke still questioned how the information was in the public domain, to which Harry replied: “Yes, I do.”

The duke said that, based on his understanding of how the press operate, just because information was already in the public domain did not mean there was not “an attempt to take the story further”, adding: “A lot of work would have been done on people’s mobile phones within those two days.”

High Court back in session

Tuesday 6 June 2023 14:08 , Andy Gregory

The High Court is now back in session after breaking for lunch, with the Duke of Sussex returning to the witness stand as Mirror Group Newspapers make their way through news articles submitted by his lawyers as evidence.

Stay out of politics, furious Tory MPs tell ‘unwise’ and ‘embarrassing’ Harry

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:55 , Andy Gregory

Our political correspondent Adam Forrest reports:

Senior Tory MPs have told The Independent that Prince Harry should stay out of British politics after his extraordinary attack on the “rock bottom” government and media.

Former minister Andrea Jenkyns said: “If Harry has got such contempt for the British government and the British media then it’s a good job he lives in America. He shouldn’t be intervening in British politics – that’s not his role.”

Henry Smith, a member of the Tory Common Sense Group, said: “I feel sorry for hardworking royals that Harry continues to cause so much embarrassment,” adding: “Sussex is disappointed with its absent Duke.”

The MP told The Independent: “It’s very unwise of him to stray into British political comment – but if he wants to he should renounce his title and stand for election. Sussex is disappointed with its absent Duke.”

Another senior Tory MP said Harry had broken the “golden rule” of commenting on politics, saying royals “do not comment on politicians and politicians do not comment on royals”.

Quotes from Harry’s memoir put to him in court as he is quizzed on ‘public interest’ in royal drug-taking

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:44 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry was quizzed over whether he agreed there was a “public interest” in an heir to the throne taking illegal drugs.

Pointing to a Sunday Mirror article published in January 2002, headlined “Harry took drugs”, Mirror Group Newspapers lawyer Andrew Green said it was the News Of The World newspaper that “broke the story” about the duke smoking cannabis, to which Harry said: “The untrue story, yes.”

Mr Green said the News Of The World had contacted the duke’s father’s office about the story, and “the palace” had “cooperated” with the coverage via “spin doctor” Mark Bolland. When asked whether this was the source of information in the Sunday Mirror, Harry said: “I wasn’t the one that wrote the article so you will have to asked the journalists.”

Extracts from Harry’s memoir Spare were read out in court by the MGN barrister, in which the duke complained of there being a “putrid strategy” to “spin me right under the bus” over the News Of The World piece.

In court, the duke said the News Of The World story was a “red rag to a bull” for newspapers, with editors asking “why didn’t you get this” and saying “make this into an exclusive for ourselves”.

Harry said the incident was “less about what’s in the story itself” but “the activity behind the scenes”, referring to the alleged use of private investigators to secure information. “The Sunday Mirror was on the back foot and therefore did everything they could,” the duke claimed.

Mr Green then asked Harry if he accepted it was a matter of public interest someone in line to the throne was allegedly taking drugs. The duke replied that there was a difference “between public interest and what interests the public”, adding of the story: “Every element of it was distressing”.

Harry says drug stories left him ‘extremely worried’ about being expelled from Eton

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:35 , Andy Gregory

Prince Harry has revealed that he was “extremely worried” he would be expelled from Eton as a result of articles claiming he had been at parties involving illegal drugs.

Referring to a story headlined, “Harry’s Cocaine Ecstasy and GHB Parties”,the Duke of Sussex said in his witness statement: “This article, along with the [News of the World] coverage, had a huge impact on my life.

“Eton had a zero drugs policy in place, and I was extremely worried I was going to be expelled.”

Discussing a January 2002 article, Harry said: “What’s notable to me in this article when reading it now are the quotes attributed to my father, including that he was ‘worried sick’ and ‘hugely relieved’ when I told him I had only used cannabis.

“My father didn’t make any direct comment to the press, a statement was made by the palace in response to the News Of The World story. This was handled by a tight, small team internally, so it is not clear to me where the defendant’s journalists could possibly have obtained these quotes from.”

He added: “These articles were also written at a time when there had been an agreement between the press and the royal family, following the death of my mother, that my brother and I should be able to go through our education without constant scrutiny and interruption.

“It seemed to me there was never any let up in the press coverage of every detail of my childhood, by the defendant’s journalists and others.”

Prince Harry: ‘Shocking’ articles saw me singled out as ‘p***y’ at school and in military

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:27 , Andy Gregory

The Duke of Sussex said he was singled out as a “p***y” by his peers following press reports of his injuries during his time at school and Sandhurst.

In his witness statement, Harry said an article in the Sunday Mirror from November 2001, which covered an injury the duke had received while playing polo and medical advice that he should stop playing rugby, was “shocking”.

The duke said: “I find it shocking that the article reveals such specific, detailed and private medical information including the advice that my doctors had given me, especially as this is not the kind of information I was freely revealing to anyone, especially not my class mates.

“I suffered injuries, just like everyone else that was playing a lot of sport at school, but it was only my injuries that were being splashed across national newspapers, nobody else in my class was enduring this treatment.

“I wasn’t reading these stories, but others at school were and I was treated differently as a result. This happened at school and later when I was at Sandhurst.

“I was often singled out for being a ‘sick note’ or a ‘p***y’ because articles like this made routine injuries seem like such a big deal.”

Police and Government ‘scared to hold press accountable'

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:12 , Tara Cobham

Harry made a general comment about the power of the press and claimed the police and Government were “scared to hold them accountable”.

He said in his witness statement: “My view is how can anybody possibly trust a media organisation, that enjoys the liberties of free press, when their own legal people and Board covers up the truth?

“When they have the powers that they have, and where even the police and the government are scared to hold them accountable or seek justice against them, they can truly believe they are above the law. And if they’re above the law, then it’s the general public that suffer. It’s really that simple.”

The duke also criticised the large number of journalists, whose articles formed the basis of his complaint, who were not appearing at the Hight Court.

Harry said in his statement: “Although I understand that they are not obliged to come and give evidence, I find it absolutely appalling that these people refuse to do so or subject themselves to cross examination especially as I have been forced to relive a horrific period in my life in order to prepare this witness statement and will be only too pleased to subject myself to cross examination in Court.

“Their cowardice speaks volumes, and I don’t understand how they are allowed to hide.”

Harry ‘disgusted’ when shown mother’s letters to Michael Barrymore

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:11 , Tara Cobham

The Duke of Sussex said in his witness statement that he was “shocked, disgusted and appalled” when he was shown three handwritten letters from his late mother Diana, Princess of Wales, to entertainer Michael Barrymore.

He said: “They are dated 23 March, 25 April and 2 June 1997 respectively and convey my mother’s concerns for Mr Barrymore’s well-being and kindly offering him a shoulder to cry on.”

The court previously heard that Diana and Mr Barrymore had private meetings while the entertainer was “struggling” due to factors including treatment for alcohol and drug addiction.

The court was also previously told that former Mirror editor Piers Morgan referred to hearing rumours about the meetings between Diana and Mr Barrymore in his book The Insider.

In his written evidence, the duke said that it was “safe to assume” that his mother and Mr Barrymore would have been exchanging voicemails about their private meetings.

Harry said: “The thought of Piers Morgan and his band of journalists earwigging into my mother’s private and sensitive messages, in the same way as they have me, and then having given her a ‘nightmare time’ three months prior to her death in Paris, makes me feel physically sick and even more determined to hold those responsible, including Mr Morgan, accountable for their vile and entirely unjustified behaviour.”

Harry describes ‘barrage of horrific personal attacks and intimidation from Piers Morgan'

Tuesday 6 June 2023 13:00 , Tara Cobham

In his witness statement, Harry attacked Piers Morgan who left Good Morning Britain for saying he did not believe claims made by the Duchess of Sussex during her and Harry’s explosive Oprah Winfrey interview.

The duke alleged Mr Morgan, the former editor of the Daily Mirror, had been intimidating him and his wife since he launched legal proceedings against the publisher of the Mirror newspaper.

Harry said in his statement: “Unfortunately, as a consequence of me bringing my Mirror Group claim, both myself and my wife have been subjected to a barrage of horrific personal attacks and intimidation from Piers Morgan, who was the editor of the Daily Mirror between 1995 and 2004, presumably in retaliation and in the hope that I will back down, before being able to hold him properly accountable for his unlawful activity towards both me and my mother during his editorship.”

‘Vast majority’ result of some unlawful activity, believes Harry

Tuesday 6 June 2023 12:58 , Tara Cobham

The duke told the court his understanding is that there have been a “huge number” of private investigator invoices uncovered from around the time of articles that appeared, and said he believed the “vast majority” of stories that appeared were the result of some unlawful activity.

He said he understood that the “competitiveness of newspapers” at the time meant journalists were told “to go and find a different version of that story” or an exclusive angle.

Asked whether he was basing his complaints about MGN articles on invoices, he said: “My understanding is that during this period the hacking was done on burner phones so there is no call data and most of the evidence has been destroyed, so I have little to go on.”

MGN journalists used unlawful methods to get ‘exclusive’ angles on existing stories - Harry

Tuesday 6 June 2023 12:56 , Tara Cobham

In response to a number of questions from Andrew Green KC about why Harry has complained of articles in MGN titles when the same information had previously been put into the public domain by other media outlets, the duke said his understanding was that MGN journalists used unlawful methods to get “exclusive” angles on existing stories or to move the story on in some way.

Answering one question, he said: “You would have to ask the journalists themselves how they got this.” He also said he understood one of the companies used by MGN was “regularly used and connected to phone hacking”.

The duke said his understanding came from his legal team or “through legal paperwork”, including private investigator invoices, he had seen.

He said in some instances he had been shown it was “not the invoices themselves but the company behind the invoices”. Asked further about invoice evidence, Harry said: “Again, that is a question for my legal team, I can only go on what I know.”

Mr Green at one point asked the duke if his legal team had prepared his witness statement, shown him it, and he had “simply signed it”, to which Harry replied: “Absolutely not.”

He added that private investigator invoices from around the time of articles were “highly suspicious”, adding: “As well as missed calls and other dropped calls before and after and around the time of these articles themselves.”

Who is James Hewitt, the officer who had an affair with Princess Diana?

Tuesday 6 June 2023 12:50 , Tara Cobham

As Prince Harry attends court in another privacy case, this time brought against the Mirror Group, every aspect of modern royal drama has been under additional scrutiny.

This includes those surrounding the royal family – past and present – such as James Hewitt.

Military man Major James Hewitt was embroiled in one of the biggest royal scandals of the last century, when he had an affair with the Princess of Wales, Diana, during her marriage to Prince Charles.

Well-known to those who lived through the press frenzy of the era, Diana’s and Hewitt’s affair hit all the headlines – especially after the affair was confirmed by the princess herself in her BBC Panorama interview.

But may not know much else about Hewitt and how he came to be caught up in a royal drama.

Jade Bremner reports.

James Hewitt, the officer who had an affair with Princess Diana