Four years after Prince Harry sued Mirror Group Newspapers, accusing its journalists of hacking his phone and using illegally obtained information to write scandalous and untrue stories about him, London’s high court has sided with the prince. On Friday, a judge ruled that Harry’s personal phone was probably hacked “to a modest extent” and that 15 of the 33 stories he included as evidence of infringement of his privacy were likely the result of the publications illegally obtaining his voice messages. Harry will be awarded 140,600 pounds — about $180,000.
During the trial, where Harry became the first senior British royal in 130 years to testify, he argued that between 1996 and 2011, employees at the Mirror, the Sunday Mirror, and the Sunday People targeted him in their coverage by using information they got from hacking his phone. He said he became suspicious of the hacking when coverage seemed to have “snippets of truth.” Their coverage, he said, portrayed him as “an irresponsible drug taker,” and dubbed him the “playboy prince.”
According to ABC, after Friday’s ruling an attorney for Harry read a statement on his behalf: “Today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability. I have been told that slaying dragons will get you burned, but in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay.” Meanwhile, a Mirror Group Newspapers spokesperson told Reuters: “We welcome today’s judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago,” and that “Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility, and paid appropriate compensation.”
The suit is one of several that Harry and his wife Meghan have lodged against British tabloids, arguing that the publications violated their privacy. In 2021, a court upheld a prior ruling that found that Associated Newspapers Limited — the publisher of The Daily Mail and Mail Online — infringed on Meghan’s privacy by publishing excerpts of a private letter written to her father in 2018. This latest ruling may is a big win for Harry, but with other suits still in the works, it doesn’t look like he’ll be out of court anytime soon.
