The Duke of Sussex wants to prove that stories were written about him using illegally obtained information. Unlike his recent autobiography or Netflix documentary, he will have little control over this court-based narrative.
The last time a senior royal appeared as a witness in the High Court, the Mirror newspaper didn’t even exist.
The year is 1891, and Crown Prince Edward is called to testify in the Royal Baccarat scandal, a card-cheating case.
His mother, Queen Victoria, was angry, embarrassed and certainly not amused.
Of course, Prince HarryHis case is not about gambling, but make no mistake, he is taking a huge personal risk.
Such is his mission to change the media landscape, he is ready to put himself on the witness stand under rigorous cross-examination by some of Britain’s most challenging and probing lawyers.
It’s a moment he’s been waiting for for years, and it couldn’t be more personal. Harry blames the tabloids for damaging his life and ending his mother’s life.
We’ve heard a lot from him in recent months, through his Netflix series, his memoirs Spareand his subsequent television interviews.
Harry had a story to sell, but now he has to settle accounts.
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Unlike his previous appearances, with well-known, carefully selected interviewers, this will be very different.
There would be nothing comfortable or familiar about the High Court, and Harry would have little control over the questioning or the narrative.
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He is trying to prove that – for two decades – stories have been written about him using information that was illegally obtained through phone hacking and voicemail interception, hazing and the use of private detectives.
These were articles about his personal life, his private life and his professional life. Articles and interference that he says caused paranoia, suspicion and massive bouts of depression.
The interrogation will be “explosive”
And his evidence will try to show that not only his phone was hacked, but also the phones of those closest to him.
Harry will inevitably bring others into this lawsuit, even if they personally would prefer to keep their names out of a public courtroom.
We already know Prince William settled a hacking case against the publishers of The Sun and News of the World for “a very large sum”.
But a settlement was never on the cards for Prince Harry because he wanted his claims to be heard in open court.
He wants to be heard, and unlike many other alleged victims of phone hacking, he can afford to take his fight as far as he can.
What happens in court will be explosive.
Prince Harry will give evidence under oath before KC, who will try to “tear his case to shreds”, as one High Court lawyer told me personally.
This hacking case is one of three he has brought against the British press. Two others, involving the owners of The Sun and Daily Mail, are still being dealt with by the courts.
Queen Victoria reportedly hated her son appearing before the Supreme Court.
the king who is comfortably out of the country vacationing in Transylvania, once told his son that his lawsuits were a “suicide mission.”
But Harry does things his own way and he made it clear that taking on the tabloids would be his “life’s work”.
This work is already underway.