Closing summary
Today’s proceedings in the high court are coming to a close. Today Prince Harry became the first senior royal to be cross-examined in court since the 19th century.
Here’s a summary of what happened today:
Harry was sworn in at court and taken through a number of articles he has submitted as part of his claim against Mirror Group Newspapers.
Harry told the court as a child he was subjected to “incredibly invasive” news articles that would have an impact him and those around him, including his late mother.
The prince said some editors and journalists had “blood on their hands” and through their work they had caused pain, upset and “inadvertently” death.
Harry said every article published about his private life contributed towards the destruction of his childhood.
The Mirror Group Newspapers barrister, Andrew Green, repeatedly argued that the articles submitted for the complaint were based on information often already in the public domain in articles published in other newspapers.
Green argued that many of the articles could be traced to legitimate sources including spokespersons for St James’s Palace.
In addition to Prince Harry’s cross-examination in court, he provided a 49-page written witness statement, setting out many of his arguments. He argues that the press portrayed him as a “thicko” and a “drug taker”.
In court, Harry argued that reports about his health – in one case an injured thumb – led him at the time to feel paranoid around his own doctors.
Harry’s witness statement says that at one point at the age of 20 he had to hide in the boot of a car to avoid the paparazzi.
In his witness statement, Harry alleges Piers Morgan, the former editor of the Daily Mirror, listened to messages left by his mother, Princess Diana.
In court, Harry alluded to the difficulties between him and his brother, Prince William. He said an article about a disagreement between the two was the sort of story that “seeds distrust between brothers”.
The prince said he would have called former royal butler Paul Burrell a “two-faced shit”.
Harry’s witness statement makes reference to the long-standing speculation that his real father was army officer James Hewitt, which culminated in a series of stories about attempts to steal Harry’s DNA for testing.
The prince suggested in his witness statement that the UK government and UK press had a poor reputation around the world and was at “rock bottom”, adding that the UK press was “in bed” with the government rather than scrutinising it.
Thanks for reading, we’ll be back tomorrow.
Updated
Britain’s government and press at rock bottom, Prince Harry tells court
Prince Harry has said Rishi Sunak’s government is at “rock bottom” and avoids scrutiny by getting “in bed” with friendly newspapers.
The prince once again broke with royal protocol by using his appearance in the phone-hacking trial to criticise a serving government. He said democracy in the UK was threatened because British media outlets were working with the government to maintain the “status quo”.
Harry told the high court that “our country is judged globally by the state of our press and our government, both of which I believe are at rock bottom”.
He used his witness statement in the phone-hacking court case against Mirror Group Newspapers to suggest British newspapers work closely with ministers to defend vested interests: “Democracy fails when your press fails to scrutinise and hold the government accountable, and instead choose to get into bed with them so they can ensure the status quo.”
Sunak’s spokesperson declined to comment on the intervention, saying: “You’ve heard repeatedly from the prime minister on the state of the country and his priorities, but I’m not going to get drawn into commenting specifically on that.”
