Prince Harry has escalated his legal battle against media mogul Rupert Murdoch's empire, alleging that The Sun tabloid unlawfully intercepted phone calls involving his late mother, Princess Diana, and his father, King Charles III, as he expands his privacy invasion lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN).
Prince Harry claims, Diana's conversations were being monitored
In a dramatic courtroom showdown, Harry's attorney, David Sherborne, revealed that evidence obtained from NGN's materials corroborates suspicions that Diana's conversations were being monitored, exposing intimate details about Harry's life from as young as 9 years old.
The amended complaint paints a picture of Diana's distress over potential surveillance, with articles in The Sun and News of the World referencing her private discussions and movements, including therapy sessions. Sherborne condemned the newspapers for dismissing Diana's concerns as "paranoid delusions" when, in fact, she was subjected to unlawful interception known by NGN's editors and executives.
“The defendant's newspapers described his late mother's concerns as ’paranoid delusions,' when the true position was that she was under close surveillance and her calls were being unlawfully intercepted by (NGN), which was known about by its editors and senior executives,” Sherborne said in court papers.
This revelation comes on the heels of accusations implicating Murdoch himself in the cover-up of unlawful information gathering, prompting Harry to join 44 other claimants, including celebrities like Hugh Grant and Guy Ritchie, in alleging widespread privacy violations spanning from 1994 to 2016. They have accused the group of unlawful activity that included intercepting voicemails, tapping phones, bugging cars and using deception to access confidential information.
{{/usCountry}}This revelation comes on the heels of accusations implicating Murdoch himself in the cover-up of unlawful information gathering, prompting Harry to join 44 other claimants, including celebrities like Hugh Grant and Guy Ritchie, in alleging widespread privacy violations spanning from 1994 to 2016. They have accused the group of unlawful activity that included intercepting voicemails, tapping phones, bugging cars and using deception to access confidential information.
{{/usCountry}}Defense lawyer Anthony Hudson criticized Harry's timing and accused him of creating distractions from the impending trial in January. NGN issued a vehement rebuttal, denouncing the claims as baseless attacks on former employees.
Despite legal hurdles, Judge Timothy Fancourt is expected to rule on Harry's application to amend the lawsuit, which could further intensify the already contentious legal battle.
With a precedent-setting victory against Mirror Group Newspapers and ongoing litigation against other tabloids, Prince Harry remains undeterred in his quest to hold the media accountable for their actions, even if it means confronting the formidable forces of the British press.