Key Highlights
- Prince Harry’s third major court battle against Associated Newspapers begins on Monday.
- Harry now appears to be more about reconciliation with his family rather than recrimination.
- The case involves six high-profile claimants, including Prince Harry himself and celebrities like Sir Elton John.
- The trial will test whether the six-year time limit for privacy breaches can be circumvented through “watershed moments.”
Prince Harry’s War with the Press Continues in Court
Harry’s war with the press is back in court. But this time, it’s different. The Duke of Sussex will be energetically fighting his corner against the press on Monday, yet he no longer seems to be fighting the rest of the world too much. This marks Prince Harry’s third major court battle accusing newspaper groups of unlawful behavior.
A Different Place in Life
When the case against the Daily Mail’s publisher begins, it will bring back memories for many. In 2023, Harry gave evidence against the Mirror group during a time when he was already embroiled in controversy with his family. That year saw the release of his memoir “Spare,” which detailed his grievances with the Royal Family, and the Netflix documentary “Harry: Modern Royal.” Despite being prepared for tough questions, Prince Harry cut an isolated figure in court that year.
However, this time feels different. In May 2023, he told BBC he wanted to end the rift with his family, saying, “There’s no point continuing to fight any more; life is precious.” And just months later, in September, he met his father, King Charles, for their first face-to-face meeting in nearly two years. This was a clear sign of improving relationships.
Reconciliation Efforts
The backdrop for this latest court case feels different from the previous one. Prince Harry is now building bridges rather than blowing them up. A review of his security when he’s in the UK could resolve another barrier to his visits, potentially paving the way for his Invictus Games in Birmingham next year—his biggest event since leaving the Royal Family acrimoniously in 2020.
Harry is also keeping a low profile, avoiding bombshell interviews.
He won’t be meeting his father during this court case as King Charles wants to keep a distance from such high-profile legal proceedings. His brother Prince William has engagements in Scotland as well.
A New Legal Battle
This trial involves six very well-known people accusing Associated Newspapers of not just accessing their voicemail messages and using private investigators to “blag” personal information, but also bugging phones and aggressive surveillance techniques. Notably, one of the claimants is Baroness Doreen Lawrence, who had previously received strong support from The Mail for her campaign in the 1990s.
To get around the six-year time limit for claiming breaches of privacy, the claimants will have to show they didn’t know about their potential cases until more recently. Associated Newspapers argues that friendly journalists created artificial “watershed moments” through articles on fringe news websites to make it seem like the victims had discovered the truth.
The judge is eager to prevent this from turning into a public inquiry and has ruled against generic claims of widespread or habitual unlawful methods. Instead, each allegation will need to be proven individually, making Prince Harry’s legal team start with one hand tied behind its back.
While this court case may be his last battle against the press, Harry is still committed to supporting his charitable causes and has no more planned media confrontations in the pipeline.
The upcoming trial will test how far Harry can go in holding Associated Newspapers accountable while maintaining his newfound peace with the Royal Family.
