Suffered 'huge bouts of depression, paranoia': What Prince Harry told court

Prince Harry: Prince Harry's lawyer said, “He became immediately suspicious of anyone named in stories about him."

Prince Harry told court that he suffered "huge bouts of depression and paranoia" as a result of press intrusion as the Duke of Sussex is suing Mirror Newspaper Group (MGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering by journalists. The court was told that Prince Harry's ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy decided "a royal life was not for her" as a result of the alleged activities of MGN journalists.

Britain's Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London. (AP)

Prince Harry's lawyer- David Sherborne- said, “He became immediately suspicious of anyone named in stories about him and felt that he could not trust anybody, even at such a young age. It also caused great challenges in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy, and made him fear for his and her safety.”

“Every time he was in a relationship, or even a rumoured relationship, that whole person’s family, and often their friends, would be 'dragged into the chaos' and find themselves the subject of unlawful activity on the part of MGN. There was nowhere that was 'off limits' for MGN’s newspapers, whose journalists would even manage to book into a hotel in Bazaruto, a small island off the coast of Mozambique, when the Duke of Sussex and Ms Davy tried to escape there and enjoy some peace and quiet,” the court was told.

“They were never on their own, which ‘placed a huge amount of unnecessary stress and strain’ on their relationship. Ultimately, MGN’s activities led Ms Davy to make the decision that ‘a royal life was not for her’, which was ‘incredibly upsetting’ for the Duke of Sussex at the time. They also caused their circle of friends to become smaller and smaller, meaning that friendships were lost entirely unnecessarily, and led to ‘huge bouts of depression and paranoia’,” the court heard.