2023-06-06 18:55:36
A member of the British royal family called to testify before the high court of justice, it was unheard of for one hundred and thirty-two years. Prince Harry, who now resides in the United States, is breaking with generations of discretion.
The case dates back to 2019, when he filed a complaint against the management of three media groups, the Mirror Group Newspapers, News Group Newspapers (The Sun et News of the World) et DMG Media (The Daily Mail). And this Tuesday took place the confrontation with the lawyers of the defendants. An important step during which Prince Harry did not seem very comfortable.
The newspapers refute the prince’s accusations
The cadet of King Charles III accuses these media of having hacked voice messages recorded on his phone. A practice already revealed in 2011 which caused the closure of the weekly News of the World and the imprisonment of several journalists. But all the offending press groups have denied that Prince Harry was one of their victims.
They also ensure that these illegal acts were not known to the management of the newspapers, and only existed because of the individual practices of certain journalists. If they were to be found guilty at the end of this series of trials, the newspapers would undoubtedly have to compensate their victims in a substantial way.
This Tuesday, Andrew Green, the lawyer for the Mirror Group Newspapers, faced Prince Harry. He represents the journalists and the management accused of having recovered information “through the interception of voicemails and/or the illegal collection of information”. This lawyer, renowned for his tenacity, dissected during this day the accusations of the Duke of Sussex and his legal team in order to prove that the allegedly personal and secret information was already public.
“You accuse the journalist of this article of being involved in criminal activities”, advanced the lawyer wearing his white wig. «Doesn’t that seem a little unfair to you knowing that it is absolutely clear that the information comes from another article, and was obtained with the cooperation of the palace?» Unprepared, Harry answered him with a falsely neglected air: ” I am not the one who wrote the article, you should ask the journalist, my Lord! »
First lawsuit brought by a member of the monarchy
For historian Ed Owens, a specialist in the royal family and the media, this trial is a great first: «It is a break with the past on the part of the monarchy, which has always preferred never to complain about the media and never to explain itself in the hope that the stories will disappear. Especially since, thanks to the “Royal Rota” system – which gives priority information to a specific media group – the monarchy controls part of the content published. »
Why does Harry go on a crusade against the media? “He has made it his personal mission to attack the tabloid press, says the historian again. While his father King Charles and his brother William tend to appease journalists. »
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