An emotional Prince Harry testified in a court case against a British tabloid publisher that his wife Meghan Markle’s royal life was “an absolute disaster”.
Harry, 41, is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for allegedly collecting information illegally.
On Wednesday, he appeared in the High Court and was questioned by both ANL’s lawyers and his own lawyer, David Sherborne.
Mr. Sherborn concluded his cross-examination by asking his client how he felt after hearing the lawsuit.
“All we wanted was an apology and responsibility and it’s fundamentally wrong to put us through something like this again. It’s a terrible experience,” the Duke of Sussex replied, fighting back tears.
“They still come after me. They have made my wife’s life absolutely miserable, Lord.”
halo! According to the magazine, Harry, who married Markle, 44, in May 2018, snorted as he left the courtroom.
The duke lamented in the witness box that the case against ANL was a “repeated traumatic experience” and felt like “a repeat of the past”.
“I’ve never once thought that my life could be commercialized by people like this,” he said, calling the idea that he doesn’t have a right to privacy “disgusting.”
According to The Independent, Prince Harry also spoke about his past relationship with Chelsy Davy, saying that the intrusion of the press had had a negative effect on her as well.
At one point, ANL’s lawyers told Harry that Harry’s past statements about being in love with Davey during a campfire in Botswana would not have been known to Mail reporters unless someone told them.
However, Prince Harry claimed that the information was likely “spoken on voicemail” or obtained through other communications.
“This quote is attributed to three strangers. You are now trying to suggest that these three strangers are some of my closest friends. That doesn’t make sense,” he said.
“These three people have never shared anything with anyone. If they had, there would have been a lot more information out there.”
Following Prince Harry’s testimony, a representative for Prince Harry told Page Six: “Today’s cross-examination revealed weaknesses. He has a strong tone, but under Harry’s scrutiny, he quickly crumbles. Associates couldn’t wait to get him off the witness stand, questioned him for just two hours, and completely avoided 10 of his 14 articles.”
In a short statement to us, Harry added: “Today we reminded our email group of who is on trial and why.”
Harry was called to testify earlier than expected. He was scheduled to take the stand on Thursday, but ANL’s lawyers finished their submissions earlier than expected on Wednesday.
A source close to Prince Harry accused ANL’s legal team of “gameplay and dirty tricks” and claimed they “took months to notify the court that opening arguments would be less than two hours”.
The source added: “They seem to think that bringing the schedule forward by 24 hours will give Prince Harry less time to prepare (but) he’s been preparing for this moment for the past three years and it’s safe to say he’s ready.”
The intense media coverage and scrutiny surrounding Prince Harry and Markle’s life as royals was one of the reasons the couple stepped down from their roles in 2020 and moved their family to the United States.
