Prince Harry arrived back at the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday morning for day two of a High Court hearing and in a witness statement, claimed the institution of the monarchy was "withholding information" from him about the phone hacking scandal.
The royal looked solemn as he walked inside, dressed in a dark grey suit, white shirt and grey patterned tie and clutching an umbrella. See his arrival on day two here...
Harry flew back to Britain to attend the hearing, which is expected to last four days, and which centres on multiple privacy claims brought against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The Duke is among a group of high-profile individuals who are bringing claims of misuse of private information and alleged unlawful information gathering.
This included the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, the 'blagging' of private records and the accessing and recording of private phone conversations.
In his witness statement, Harry described how former girlfriend Chelsy Davy endured the “terrifying” experience of photographers swarming over their holiday destination after the Mail of Sunday published its location.
© AlamyHarry said his former partner felt she was "being hunted" and he was "scared" she would end the relationship after the newspaper allegedly used "unlawful" methods to discover their break in Argentina.
He said: "This intrusion was terrifying for Chelsy: it made her feel like she was being hunted and the press had caught her, and it was terrifying for me too because there was nothing I could do to stop it and now she was in my world.
"She was 'shaken' and I was really paranoid about trying to protect our privacy, as the article says. Their behaviour and treatment of Chelsy was not normal.
"I was scared that Chelsy was going to run in the opposite direction or be chased and harassed to death."
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© GettyThe Duke also alleged in his witness statement that the "institution" made clear to him the royal family did not need to know about the issue that rocked the British newspaper industry, and "did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms".
"The institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN’s (News Group Newspapers Limited) phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation," he said in the statement.
The Duke said during his ten years as an army officer from 2005 he was "extremely busy and worked long hours", and did not have the time to regularly read newspapers or watch television.
He claims he had no knowledge his phone had been "hacked", saying: "My understanding was that a voicemail my brother had left for me had been accessed and published. Aside from that, I thought that the hacking had been confined to the phones of members of staff."
It was only after the Prince had brought legal proceedings against other newspaper publishers he learnt from his solicitors "that some private investigators had come forward to admit – for the first time – to unlawful information gathering that had been commissioned by Associated."
© RexHarry concluded his statement by saying: "Unfair is not a big enough word to describe the fact that Associated is trying at this early stage to prevent me from bringing my claim.
"I do not see why Associated should get away with something they have covered up and lied about for however many years.
"I simply do not understand how I could have discovered that I had these claims against Associated for the unlawful acts I am claiming about any earlier than I did, especially as current senior figures at Associated lied all those years ago, which everyone believed."
© GettyThe Duke, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon and Sadie Frost all attended the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday for the start of the first hearing in their claims against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The group also includes Elizabeth Hurley and former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes.
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In a document filed on Harry’s behalf on day one, barrister David Sherborne said: "In particular, suspicion and paranoia was caused by Associated's publication of the unlawful articles: friends were lost or cut off as a result and everyone became a 'suspect' since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source of this information being provided to Associated's newspapers."
© RexHe added: "The claimant regards Associated's unlawful acts to amount to a major betrayal given promises made by the media to improve its conduct following the tragic and untimely death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997."
Lawyers for ANL, which is also the publisher of The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline, said the allegations are “firmly” denied and that the “stale” claims have been brought too late as it made a bid to throw out the cases.
© GettyANL is making a bid to have the claims dismissed without a trial.
The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to finish on Thursday with a decision expected at a later date. LISTEN: Why Charles is being strict with the coronation guest list |
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