Prince Harry has repeated his allegations against the British tabloid media before the High Court in London: They are said to have obtained information about him by illegal means. However, under cross-examination he could hardly prove it.
The top news in the British media – Prince Harry sat on the witness stand for five hours yesterday in the High Court in London. Right off the bat, he admitted he harbored a lifelong animosity towards the tabloids because they had haunted him since birth.
It destroys his relationships and sows distrust in family and friends, Prince Harry railed. “How much blood will stain the typing fingers of reporters before anyone can stop this madness,” Harry said drastically.
Together with other plaintiffs, he accuses the media group Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) of illegally gathering information for a period between 1996 and 2010. Among other things, the publisher is said to have tapped the prince’s cell phone.
Lawyer refers to previous media reports
Mirror Group lawyer Andrew Green, nicknamed the “beast of the courtroom,” meticulously scrutinized a number of newspaper articles as part of Harry’s cross-examination. The prince’s lawyers had said they contained illegally obtained information. It was about the prince’s illnesses, his relationship with his first girlfriend Chelsy Davy and family matters.
Green repeatedly referred to reports in other media that had already dealt with the topic in advance, which suggests that journalists were merely copying each other. Harry’s reply, initially very nervous, became more composed over time: Competing media had tried to continue turning stories by listening. For a long time he didn’t know where the information in some reports came from. He had become “paranoid” and suspected friends of being informants.
Lawyer: “Harry needs to make a clear connection”
And that remained the weak point in the course of the questioning, explained the lawyer Joshua Rozenberg in the BBC. “The problem is, Harry needs to make a clear link between the stories that have been published and the allegations that illegal practices have been used to produce them,” he said.
Harry repeatedly replied to the media reports cited by the lawyer that there were receipts for paid private investigators, Rozenberg continued. “But the fact that the Mirror hired private investigators doesn’t prove that they tapped his phone and violated his privacy.”
Harry: “You start out as a blank canvas”
Where Attorney Green went into detail, Harry answered in general terms. He couldn’t say how certain journalists got information, you have to ask them yourself. At times the prince seemed agitated, then snappy again.
Harry had already made strong allegations in a 50-page written statement that was published before the cross-examination. In the document, Harry emphasizes that the press assigns each royal a role: “You start out as a blank canvas while they figure out what kind of person you are and what problems and temptations you may have,” it said.
Then the media tried to get you to play the part so they could sell as many newspapers as possible. One is labeled, in his case as a “cheat”, “idiot” or “underage drunkard”.
Prince also sees government at rock bottom
In the statement, Harry was also harsh on the British government: the press and government in the United Kingdom are at a low point. In order to save journalism, those people in the media who use illegal means for their goals must be exposed. Democracy fails when the media fails to hold the government accountable and instead chooses to go to bed with it to protect the status quo, Harry said.
The prince also blames the tabloids for the death of his mother Diana, who died in a 1997 Paris chase involving photographers.
Harry as a “radical innovator”?
According to journalist and civil rights activist Afua Hagan, his declared goal in life is to reform the press landscape. “Harry sees himself as the radical innovator here. He wants the media to be held accountable, to apologize for their practices.”
It’s not about the money for him. “Even if he were awarded damages, it probably wouldn’t cover his legal fees,” says Hagan. “It would be a victory for him if the publishers had to admit their guilt.”
The interrogation is scheduled to continue on Wednesday. In the civil class action lawsuit against the mirror group MGN, cases involving several celebrities are being tried as an example. It should also be clarified to what extent the management level of the publishing house was involved in illegal practices. MGN rejects the allegations. A verdict is not expected until later this year. If Harry and the other plaintiffs are right, the court could award them damages.