Prince Harry of Britain will find out on Friday if he has been successful in his legal battle against a newspaper publisher over allegations of phone-hacking and other illegal activities, marking a significant ruling in his fight against the British tabloid press.
The prince, who made history by being the first senior British royal to give evidence in court in 130 years during his appearance as the main witness during the trial in June, has taken legal action against MGN, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People.
Harry, along with approximately 100 other claimants, including actors, sports stars, celebrities, and individuals with connections to high-profile figures, are suing MGN over allegations of phone-hacking and illegal information-gathering between 1991 and 2011.
They allege that senior editors and executives at MGN were aware of and endorsed the misconduct. MGN, which is owned by Reach, denies these accusations, stating that they are not supported by evidence.
Judge Timothy Fancourt will announce his decision at London’s High Court at 1030 GMT.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles and fifth in line to the throne, was chosen as one of four test cases for the trial. Over two days of testimony, he claimed that MGN targeted him for 15 years, starting in 1996, and is seeking damages of around 440,000 pounds ($550,000).
When asked how he would feel if the court determined that he had not been a victim of phone-hacking, Harry stated, “I would feel some injustice.”
While MGN did admit to Harry being the victim of unlawful information-gathering on one occasion, for which they said he was only entitled to 500 pounds in damages, their lawyer argued that there was no evidence that Harry’s phone had been hacked at all.
Since stepping down from his royal duties in 2020 and moving to California with Meghan, the Duke of Sussex has made it his mission to combat what he calls “criminals masquerading as journalists” in the British press, especially senior executives and editors.
He has had some success so far, winning the right to pursue a similar phone-hacking case against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, alongside high-profile figures such as Elton John.
However, earlier this week, he lost a bid to win a libel claim against the same publisher without the need for a trial, costing him at least 50,000 pounds in legal fees.
His allegations of unlawful behavior by News Corp’s News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Sun, will also go to trial, although the judge rejected his request to consider claims of phone-hacking.
(Writing by Michael Holden; editing by Mark Heinrich)
