Prince Harry on brink of tears as he says ‘they made my wife’s life a misery’ | Royal | News
Prince Harry was overcome with emotion as he spoke about his wife as he presented evidence to the Supreme Court this afternoon. The Duke of Sussex, one of seven high-profile people to take legal action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of illegal doxxing, was on the verge of tears as he described the impact of ANL’s reporting on his wife, Meghan Markle.
“They have made my wife’s life a complete misery, my Lord,” he said. Harry’s statement brought an end to the day’s hearing, with the hearing adjourned until 10.30am on Thursday.
David Sherborne, a lawyer for the group of high-profile figures suing the broadcaster, said they were “not in a position to have anyone else available” to testify on Wednesday.
Giving evidence today, Harry repeatedly mentioned that he could not complain about intrusive press coverage during his time as a member of the Royal Family and insisted that none of his close friends spoke to the press.
Giving evidence at the High Court yesterday, Harry appeared annoyed with lawyers acting on behalf of ANL, saying: “I was not a leaker of my social circles, I want to make that absolutely clear.”
In a tepid exchange with Antony White KC, on behalf of the ANL, the duke was asked why it had taken him so long to bring legal action against the publisher when the 14 articles Harry claimed were published between 2001 and 2013.
A central tenet of ANL’s case is that the claims were brought so late because the law states that privacy claims such as this must be brought within six years. White suggested Harry could start legal proceedings within that time rather than waiting until October 2022.
However, the duke said he did not complain about some of the items at the center of his claim “because of the institution I am in”.
White said the Duke had “not made a complaint and no complaint has been made on your behalf” about the articles that Harry knew about, adding: “This is because at the time the articles were published, as far as you saw them, you believed that the information they contained came from legitimate sources.”
The Duke replied: “To some extent, but I couldn’t complain about them anyway because of the institution I was in.”
This was something he reiterated in his witness statement at the trial, in which he described having an “uneasy relationship” with the press following the death of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
“As a member of the institution, our policy was ‘never complain, never explain,’” he said.
