Prince Harry’s friends ‘were not all tight lipped’, Mail on Sunday journalist tells court
Not all of Prince Harry’s close friends, the paper’s former daily editor, were “tight-mouthed.” mail on sunday he told the Supreme Court on Thursday.
Katie Nicholl has repeatedly denied obtaining information illegally and claimed she had “genuine contacts who are really close to Prince Harry and wanted to talk to me.”
Ms Nicholl was asked about some of the written evidence in which she said she met the Duke of Sussex at a party in London’s Kensington Roof Gardens around April 2003.
She told the London court that she saw Harry smoking at the entrance to a private room and invited him in.
The journalist said he had a fond memory of this, adding: “Being invited to a party by one of the most famous princes in the world is not always possible.”
David Sherborne represents Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). Daily Mail And mail on sunday, He said Ms Nicholl exaggerated her relationship with Harry and “exaggerated” the connections she had.
“I can tell you that Prince Harry’s close friends are aware of this and are very tight-lipped,” he said.
Ms Nicholl replied: “They weren’t all tight-lipped. They certainly weren’t. I had very good sources in the immediate area.”
A group of public figures, including the Duke of Sussex, are taking legal action against ANL over allegations of illegal information collection. The publisher strongly denies the allegations and defends the lawsuit.
Ms Nicholl is named as the author of seven articles in Harry’s claim against the ANL, which he alleges resulted from illegal information collection by the duke.
But in her written statement, Ms Nicholl said she had an “excellent, trusted network” and had received many stories about Harry from friends.
One article in Harry’s case concerned his former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke being chosen as his child’s godfather.
In her written statement, Ms Nicholl said that although she was not “100% sure” who she spoke to for the story, she spoke frequently to the late Queen’s close confidant and once-disappeared first cousin, Ms Legge-Bourke’s “close friend” Lady Elizabeth Anson.
Mr Sherborne asked the journalist about the article on Thursday and said: “You don’t remember actually talking to him about it.”
Ms Nicholl replied: “It is very difficult to remember what conversations I had in 2001” and added that “there was a close family connection”.
He later said that information regarding the story about Harry’s relationship with Chelsy Davy “came from one of Chelsy’s very good friends in South Africa” rather than illegally.
The trial of the group, which includes Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley, David Furnish and Sir Simon Hughes, into the allegations began in January.
The hearing is expected to conclude at the end of March, with the judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, expected to make a decision in writing at a later date.
