Surprise at the High Court in London, Monday March 27, 2023: Prince Harry, at war with the British tabloids, appeared at the hearing of the editor of the Daily Mail , accused by several celebrities of having collected information illegally.
This extremely rare appearance in court by a member of the British royal family is Prince Harry's first known trip to the United Kingdom since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in early September and comes just over a month of the king's coronation , May 6. On the other hand, he should not meet either King Charles III or his brother William , according to British media
Prince Harry, Elton John and Liz Hurley
The 38-year-old prince holds the tabloid press responsible for the death of his mother, Diana, in 1997, which was then pursued by paparazzi. He virulently criticizes his family's coverage and has launched several proceedings against the media
This hearing against Associated Newspaper (ANL) should last four days, during which the publisher of the Daily Mail , tries to defeat the lawsuits initiated by six plaintiffs, including the youngest son of Charles III, but also the singer Elton John or the actress Liz Hurley. All claim to have been victims of "numerous unlawful acts" by or on behalf of ANL, according to their lawyer, David Sherborne.
grotesque defamation”
The facts denounced date back to the period 1993-2011, as well as in 2018. The complainants, through the voice of their lawyer, denounce "illegal interception of voice messages, telephone tapping, obtaining private information such as bills phone calls or medical records by deception” using private détective
The group had, last October, refuted "totally and without ambiguity these grotesque defamations which appear to be nothing more than a planned and orchestrated attempt to embroil the Mail's headlines in the wiretapping scandal over 30 years old articles. years ".
A first against the publisher of the Daily Mail
From the beginning of the 2000s, the British press had been shaken by several illegal wiretapping scandals. They had targeted the couriers of collaborators of princes William and Harry. But the emotion was at its height in 2011, across the Channel, when the tabloid News of the World listened to the voicemail of a schoolgirl who disappeared and was finally found dead. The revelations had led to the crash closure of the tabloid owned by Rupert Murdoch
But while many personalities have sued tabloids after being tapped, this is the first time such lawsuits have targeted the publisher of the Daily Mail .