Prince Harry struggles to contain his emotions as he reveals in court that the Daily Mail has caused significant distress in Meghan’s life

Prince Harry fought back tears in the witness box on Wednesday as he recounted to London’s High Court how the Daily Mail had turned his wife Meghan’s life into “an absolute misery,” while providing evidence against the paper’s publisher in a privacy lawsuit.

The Duke of Sussex, 41, along with six other claimants, including singer Elton John, is taking legal action against the Mail’s publisher, Associated Newspapers, for purported privacy infringements that span from the early 1990s to the 2010s.

Associated, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, has described the allegations as “preposterous smears,” asserting that its journalists depended on legitimate sources, including friends and acquaintances of the celebrities.

In 2023, Harry became the first royal in 130 years to testify in court during yet another lawsuit against the press, showcasing a confrontational demeanor while being questioned by Associated’s lawyer, Antony White.

He became emotional when asked about the case’s impact, stating that his treatment by Associated had “only got worse” since he filed the lawsuit against the publisher in 2022.

“I believe it is inherently unjust to subject all of us to this once more when all we sought was an apology and some accountability,” remarked King Charles’ younger son. “It is a dreadful ordeal, and the most troubling part is that by standing up here and opposing them … they persist in targeting me.” With emotion in his voice, Harry, who currently resides with Meghan in California, expressed: “They have made my wife’s life an absolute misery.”

HARRY DESCRIBES CASE AS ‘TRAUMATIC’

During the concluding moments of his testimony, which lasted under two hours, Harry’s attorney, David Sherborne, inquired about the feelings evoked by reading Associated’s defense. Harry expressed that it seemed like “a repetition of the past, a recurring traumatic experience”.

“It is utterly appalling to be forced to endure this process once more, only to have them assert that I possess no right to privacy,” he stated.

Previously, he had consistently dismissed White’s claims that Mail journalists were part of his “leaky” social circle. “For the avoidance of doubt, I am not friends with any of these journalists and I never have been,” Harry stated during his frequently tense interactions with White.

The case involving the prince revolves around 14 articles that his legal team claims resulted from illegal information gathering methods, such as hacking voicemail messages, intercepting landlines, and acquiring private information through deceptive practices, referred to as “blagging”.

White stated that the information in the articles was obtained legitimately, pointing out to Harry that a former royal editor of the Mail on Sunday, Katie Nicholl, was part of his social circle.

Harry responded, “If the sources were reliable and she was socializing with all my friends, then why was she employing private investigators linked to all the illegal information gathering?”

He mentioned that he spoke to reporters and attempted to remain civil, yet felt he had little option despite their tendency to “commercialise my private life”.

Elizabeth Hurley is scheduled to provide evidence on Thursday.

In 2022, Harry and the other claimants initiated their legal action, bringing Associated’s titles into a phone-hacking scandal that had persistently troubled the British press.

The other claimants include David Furnish, Elton John’s husband; actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost; anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence; and former lawmaker Simon Hughes. Hurley is anticipated to provide testimony on Thursday.

For Harry, who has long held the press responsible for the 1997 Paris car crash that claimed his mother, Princess Diana, the trial represents the final stage of his struggle with tabloids, following his victory in securing an apology from Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper division last year.

In his witness statement, Harry cautioned that “if the most influential newspaper company can successfully evade justice, then in my opinion the whole country is doomed”.

He described the act of filing the lawsuit as a “public duty,” stating: “When you’re facing such a colossal and daunting media organization, the courts are your final and only recourse.”