12 News Scoops Prince Harry Claims the Media Obtained Unlawfully
Harry claims his privacy was invaded unlawfully in 147 stories.
On Wednesday, Prince Harry gave his second day of testimony as part of his lawsuit against the publisher of The Mirror. The Duke, the first member of the Royal Family to testify in court in 130 years, claims that Mirror Group Newspapers published a whopping 147 stories between 1996 and 2010, using information they obtained illegally.
Of those, his legal team narrowed it down to 33 to be considered during the trial – 28 of which the publisher denies were based on unlawful information gathering. Here are the 14 most scandalous news scoops.
The first story that Harry alleges was obtained via unlawful information gathering was published on September 16, 1996. It focused on Princess Diana visiting Prince Harry for his 12th birthday at Ludgrove School on his 12th birthday.
Harry claims that there was private information leaked, including his feeling about his parent's divorce. The defense claims that it was public knowledge Diana visited Harry and that Princess Diana had spoken openly about his feelings about the divorce.
A lot of the stories in question have to do with Harry's social life. A story published on September 19, 2000, centered on Harry's 16th birthday party. He maintains that the article revealed personal information, like where he celebrated his birthday with friends. However, the publication maintains they were tipped off by a source that Harry was partying with pals.
On January 13, 2002, The Mirror published two stories claiming that Harry smoked pot and that his father didn't react well to the revelations. The Mirror claims their information came from "a series of articles published in the first edition of the News of the World the same day," which was even confirmed by the Royal Family to the paper.
The following day, on January 14, 2022, The Mirror followed up the first drug story with a more serious one, claiming he was having drug parties and that his brother wasn't happy about it. However, the publisher says Queen Elizabeth basically confirmed the story when she released a statement: "The Queen shares the Prince of Wales's views on the seriousness of Prince Harry's behaviour and supports the action which has been taken. She hopes the matter can now be considered closed," she said at the time.
On March 29, 2002, The Mirror ran a story about Prince Harry being diagnosed with mono or glandular fever. The publishing group maintains that Jane Kerr, a royal reporter who was "well connected," got the source of information and added that it was confirmed by a statement from a St James' Palace spokesman, who was quoted in the article.
Many of the stories discussed in the courtroom this week are related to Harry's gap year in Australia. This one, published December 16, 2003, was about Harry surfing in Noosa.
The publisher says they got the photos from an Australian freelance photographer and that they "appeared in numerous papers on the same day." They also pointed out that Harry had "no reasonable expectation of privacy while on a popular public beach in Australia."
In this story from December 28, 2003, The People alleged that Prince Harry and Prince William clashed over a meeting to "silence butler who betrayed their mother." It claimed that Harry didn't want to meet with Burrell while his brother did. TMG said the story came from "a confidential source who specialized in royal matters and therefore had extensive royal contacts."
During his testimony this week, Harry maintains that many of the unlawfully obtained stories damaged his personal relationships, especially his one with Chelsy Davy. On November 29, 2004, the Daily Mirror published a short story alleging that Davy was "the pretty blonde" Harry had been vacationing in Argentina with.
He claims the media group got the information from phone hacking or blagging. Still, MGN says it came from a prior report in the Mail on Sunday, two confidential sources, and a South African photographer.
Both stories, published on January 15, 2005, were about Chelsy wanting to dump Harry after the Nazi uniform incident and an alleged flirting incident between Harry and a brunette. The Mirror says the information was "obvious and trivial and not information in respect of which the Claimant had a reasonable expectation of privacy."
After his breakup with Chelsy, the publication moved on to a fling with Astrid Harbord, detailing their "secret dates." The media group maintains they got their information from the Press Association and other publications.
On April 19, 2009, The People published an article about Harry's relationship with actress Caroline Flack, who Harry left a party with. They claim the information came from the photo agency that sold them the photos.
This April 26, 2009, story focused on the aftermath of Harry and Chelsy's split, claiming that Harry was "bombarding" her with calls to win her back. The publisher claims several other stories in various publications previously reported that Harry was trying to repair the relationship even after she had a new boyfriend.
