Prince Harry Appears Before London Court in Phone-Hacking Case

Facts

• Prince Harry on Tuesday began submitting evidence as part of a high-profile appearance before the London High Court, as his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) ramps up. MGN faces allegations of phone-hacking and other illegal forms of information gathering.¹
• The Prince submitted a 55-page witness statement, claiming that journalists from MGN’s subsidiaries — the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and The People — illegally accessed voicemails on his phone and used them to produce stories, which MGN denies.²
• Harry slammed the “vile” press, which he claims has targeted him since he was a child. The Duke's appearance for cross-examination by MGN lawyer Andrew Green made him the first senior British royal to appear before a court in 130 years.³
• Though slated to appear at the first day of proceedings on Monday, Harry was absent after flying to London on Sunday from his Los Angeles home. Green, and presiding judge Timothy Francourt, were  reportedly surprised he did not attend the opening day of the case.⁴
• The Duke is one of more than 100 people suing MGN for unlawful activities carried out between 1991 and 2011. The news group has had to settle 600-plus claims and pay over $120M in damages since 2014, when it admitted to liability in four phone-hacking cases.⁵
• Despite spending much of his testimony talking about the “devastating impact” the press has had on his life, as well as those of his late mother and wife, legal analysts say Harry must provide clear evidence that his phone was hacked in order to be successful at court.⁶

Sources: ¹Al Jazeera, ²BBC News, ³Reuters (a), ⁴CBS, ⁵Reuters (b) and ⁶NPR Online News.

Narratives

• Narrative A, as provided by BNN Breaking. Prince Harry is taking a brave stand. Despite facing relentless media scrutiny throughout his childhood, much of the royal family turned a blind eye to invasions of privacy in return for favorable coverage. The Duke's significant public profile should not deny him the right to privacy afforded to every other citizen, and we should respect him for fighting back against unscrupulous media forces that stop at nothing in pursuit of content for their tabloid publications.
• Narrative B, as provided by Fortune. It is fitting that Prince Harry failed to show up to the first day of hearings for his lawsuit against MGN, considering that he has made a living off complaining without taking any real action against the alleged malign forces plaguing his life. Harry has undoubtedly been subject to an invasive press that occasionally goes too far, but this is to be expected given his royal status. It is clear that the Duke's characterization of these infrequent infringements of privacy by journalists is dramatically exaggerated.