Prince Harry says he faced 'horrific personal attacks and intimidation’ for hacking trial and addresses James Hewitt rumours in court
The Duke of Sussex is engaged in legal proceedings against the publishers of the Mirror
Prince Harry returned to the UK this week to appear as a witness in a legal case against the publishers of the Mirror.
The Duke of Sussex, who currently lives in the US with his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Archie and Lilibet, appeared at London's High Court as part of legal proceedings against Mirror Group Newspapers for alleged unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking, gaining information by deception, and the hire of private investigators.
Harry became the first prominent member of the royal family to take the stand in 130 years, and gave evidence in court yesterday claiming he suffered 'horrific personal attacks and intimidation' from former Mirror editor, Piers Morgan. He also addressed tabloid rumours that James Hewitt was his father.
The Duke was cross-examined by barrister Andrew Green KC, and claimed that he and Meghan had been subjected to 'a barrage of horrific personal attacks' from Piers Morgan since he began legal proceedings against the Mirror's publishers.
He also discussed the personal impact of longstanding tabloid fodder that his father was James Hewitt, the former lover of his later mother, Princess Diana.
In a witness statement to the court, he said: "Numerous newspapers had reported a rumour that my biological father was James Hewitt, a man my mother had a relationship with after I was born."
Adding that he hadn't realised the timeline didn't fit until 2014, when he was 30, he said: "At the time of this article and others similar to it, I wasn’t actually aware that my mother hadn’t met Major Hewitt until after I was born."
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Harry continued that stories of that nature 'felt very damaging and very real' to him at the time, adding: "Were the newspapers keen to put doubt into the minds of the public so I might be ousted from the royal family?"
Prince Harry has arrived in court this morning for his second day of testimony.
The case continues.
Jadie Troy-Pryde is News Editor, covering celebrity and entertainment, royal, lifestyle and viral news. Before joining the team in 2018 as the Lifestyle and Social Media Editor, she worked at a number of women’s fashion and lifestyle titles including Grazia, Women’s Health and Stylist, and now heads the Marie Claire UK news desk.