Prince Harry is reportedly getting emotional during his testimony.
The 41-year-old Duke of Sussex, who stepped down from his royal duties alongside wife Meghan Markle in 2020, spoke out in his trial against Associated Newspapers Limited, publisher of The Daily Mail, on Wednesday (January 21) in High Court in London, England.
Continue reading to find out more…
Harry said that he has “always had an uneasy relationship” with the press after the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana.
“However, as a member of the Institution, the policy was to ‘never complain, never explain,’” he said on the witness stand, THR reports.
“There was no alternative; I was conditioned to accept it. For the most part, I accepted the interest in my performing my public functions,” he added, per BBC News.
After his relationship with Meghan went public years ago, Harry claimed he was “increasingly troubled by the approach of not taking action against the press in the wake of vicious persistent attacks on, harassment of and intrusive, sometimes racist articles concerning Meghan.”
Prince Harry said “it’s only got worse, not better” for him in his life, and that he wants an apology and accountability.
He also claimed the publishers “made my wife’s [Meghan‘s] life an absolute misery,” and journalists in court report that his voice broke while saying the statement.
Prince Harry said his life has been “commercialized” by the media, and it’s “disgusting” to consider he shouldn’t be entitled to a private life, calling his legal battle a “horrible experience” for himself and his family, per BBC News.
Prince Harry is just one of several celebrities who are suing the publisher over concerns of “breaches of privacy” and claims of intercepted voicemails, tapped phone lines and bugged homes by The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday, including Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, and politicians Simon Hughes and Doreen Lawrence.
On Monday (January 19), Harry was spotted arriving at a court in London for the star-studded lawsuit, accusing the organization of “illegal information gathering.”
In response, the publishers call the claims “lurid” and “preposterous,” via THR.
If you missed it, Prince Harry recently scored a different legal victory.
