Prince Harry has said British tabloids are responsible for “inciting hatred and harassment” in his private life, and he often played up to media descriptions of being a “thicko” as he took to the stand for the first time during his phone hacking trial which got underway yesterday.
The Duke’s comments are from his witness statement, released just as he entered London’s High Court today, which lays out his full accusations against Mirror Group Newspapers.
He starts the statement by saying that his decision to move to California with his wife, Meghan Markle, was “due to the constant intrusion, inciting of hatred and harassment by the tabloid press into every aspect of our private lives, which had a devastating impact on our mental health and wellbeing.”
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He added: “We were also very concerned for the security and safety of our son.”
Prince Harry later says the “vile” behavior from the tabloids had him in a “downward spiral,” and he first suspected voicemail interception when “snippets of truth” appeared in tabloid stories.
Later in the statement, Prince Harry says members of the Royal Family are “cast into a specific role by the tabloid press,” and as the “spare” to his brother, Prince Williams, he was cast as the “thicko,” “cheat,” “underage drinker,” and “irresponsible drug taker,” which he would often play up to.
“As a teenager and in my early twenties, I ended up feeling as though I was playing up to a lot of the headlines and stereotypes that they wanted to pin on me mainly because I thought that, if they are printing this rubbish about me and people were believing it, I may as well ‘do the crime’, so to speak,” he said.
“It was a downward spiral, whereby the tabloids would constantly try and coax me, a ‘damaged’ young man, into doing something stupid that would make a good story and sell lots of newspapers. Looking back on it now, such behavior on their part is utterly vile.”
The statement added: “I always felt as if the tabloids wanted me to be single, as I was much more interesting to them and sold more newspapers.”
Prince Harry arrived at the High Court in London to give evidence on Monday morning. The Duke was expected in court yesterday, on the first day of the trial, but failed to turn up as he arrived in the UK late after flying from California last night, where he had been celebrating his daughter Lilibet’s second birthday on Sunday.
Prince Harry, and multiple other claimants, are suing Mirror Newspapers, alleging information about them was illegally obtained to generate stories. The claimants believe journalists from the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and The People illegally accessed their voicemails to listen in on messages. This is a civil case rather than a criminal case. Prince Harry is the first senior royal to be cross-examined in court since the 19th century.
Prince Harry’s testimony continues today and tomorrow.
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