Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, has sought to include new claims in his privacy invasion lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers. The lawsuit involves evidence of unlawfully intercepted phone calls of his late mother, Princess Diana, his father King Charles, and Queen Camilla. The intercepted calls were revealed in materials turned over by NGN.
During a recent hearing at the High Court in London, Harry's lawyer stated that the phone tapping resulted in private information about Prince Harry being exposed dating back to when he was just 9 years old. The lawsuit alleges that NGN's newspapers described Princess Diana's concerns as 'paranoid delusions' when, in fact, she was under close surveillance and her calls were being unlawfully intercepted by NGN.
Prince Harry is suing NGN, publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, over alleged invasions of privacy from the mid-1990s until 2016. NGN has denied the allegations, claiming that Harry was targeted by journalists and private investigators. The case is expected to go to trial in January 2025.
Earlier this year, a judge dismissed a claim related to phone hacking, ruling that Prince Harry was aware of the tapping at News of the World and could have brought his case sooner. In the U.K., claimants typically have six years after a privacy breach to take legal action.
In a witness statement for another lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Ltd., Prince Harry mentioned the royal family's policy of 'never complain, never explain,' which limited his ability to address media intrusion. He stated that information about NGN's phone hacking was withheld from him for a long time, and he only became fully aware of the situation in 2020 after moving out of the United Kingdom.
Prince Harry has been involved in multiple lawsuits against U.K. tabloids in recent years, alleging phone hacking, illegal information gathering, and libel. Last year, he made history by giving evidence in court against Mirror Group Newspapers, becoming the first prominent member of the British royal family to do so in 130 years.
