Prince Harry fights back tears and says wife Meghan Markle's life was made 'an absolute misery' in court appearance
Prince Harry has been battling it out in court
Prince Harry has shared an eye-opening glimpse into what Meghan Markle endured at the hands of alleged unlawful privacy invasions.
The prince shared personal details about his life as a working royal before distancing himself from the royal family, as he testified in High Court today.
The Duke of Sussex was visibly emotional as he concluded sharing his evidence in his trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail this afternoon.
Prince Harry speaks out about the impact privacy invasion has had on Meghan Markle
Harry candidly cited the paranoia he has faced due to the publishers alleged intrusions into his private life.
He also shared the “misery” Meghan Markle has faced because of this.
Prince Harry is part of a group of high-profile claimants, which include Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes, as well as actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley.
These high profile names are bringing legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
They are doing so over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
These claims allege that information for articles was obtained by carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities.
These activities included phone tapping and “blagging” private records.
ANL has denied any wrongdoing.
Antony White KC, for Associated, told the High Court that journalists could prove with given evidence that they used legitimate sources to gather this information.
White also claimed that some of the claimants had “leaky” friends.
Prince Harry testifies
He alleged that these friends would talk to journalists and that the information was not harvested unlawfully.
White claimed members of Harry’s circle at the time were doing this.
Harry argued that he did not have a “leaky” circle of friends.
“My social circles were not leaky, I want to make that absolutely clear,” he said, as reported by the BBC.
During his two-and-a-half-hour witness stand, Harry said it was “disgusting” to hear the Daily Mail publisher claim “in their defence that I don’t have any right to privacy”.
Harry discussed his relationship with the press following the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.
He described his relationship with the press as “uneasy”.
Harry ‘dig’ at monarchy
The prince also seemed to make a dig at the royal family and the motto The Firm are said to live by.
He implied how this approach prevented him from speaking up.
According to the BBC, Harry said he “was not allowed to complain” because he was a member of the “institution”, meaning the royal family.
Harry’s legal team has claimed that 14 articles published by ANL between 2001 and 2013 were based on unlawfully obtained information. They argue that the stories were written in a “highly intrusive and damaging way”.
One of the stories reportedly included “confidential discussions” he had after a photo of Princess Diana dying was published in the Italian press.
Harry described the article as “beyond cruel”.
Prince Harry slams ‘beyond cruel’ privacy invasions
He also cited another article published in the Daily Mail in July 2006.
The story was reportedly about private conversations between himself and Prince William about the publication of the pictures of his mother.
Harry also discussed the pressure it put on his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
The prince said he was “really worried something bad was going to happen” during their relationship, due to these intrusions.
Prince Harry reportedly became very emotional as he discussed the impact this has had on his state of mind.
He was said to have admitted that this alleged treatment from ANL journalists caused him to become very paranoid.
The Duke of Sussex describes his ‘paranoia’
He said in written evidence: “I was never suspicious of Chelsy in relation to stories like this, but I was of her friends. If I saw this story at the time, I would have been very frustrated and angry. This sort of intrusion was terrifying for Chelsy: it made her feel like she was being hunted and the press had caught her and it was terrifying for me too because there was nothing I could do to stop it and now she was in my world.
“She was ‘shaken’ and I was really paranoid about trying to protect our privacy, as the article says.”
He also detailed how this invasion of his privacy impacted his relationship with Cressida Bonas in a similar way. He described an article published in the Daily Mail in 2013 as “creepy” as it discussed how Cressida was holidaying away, leaving Harry to a “lonely” New Year’s Eve.
The publication reportedly knew of Cressida’s private plans to visit Richard Branson’s island.
Prince Harry on the impact unlawful information gathering has had on Meghan Markle
Harry also discussed the impact on his wife, Meghan.
On the verge of tears, as reported by PEOPLE from the courtroom, Harry said: “By standing up here and taking a stand against them, this has continued to come after me.
“And they have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my Lord.”
Whilst on the witness stand, Harry said the case against ANL felt like a “recurring traumatic experience”.
He dubbed it as a “repeat of the past”, adding: “I have never believed that my life is open season to be commercialised by these people.”
Prince Harry was said to be visibly upset as he left the courtroom sniffling.
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