When Prince Harry gave evidence in his phone-hacking trial on Tuesday he said one of the things that disgusted him most about British newspapers was how they were “ganging up to protect each other”.
Wednesday morning’s front pages may reinforce his opinion, with the prince receiving critical coverage in other newspapers he is suing in separate legal cases.
Rather than ignore Harry’s allegations of alleged wrongdoing by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers, most outlets embraced the story about him becoming the first British royal since 1891 to be cross-examined in court.
The coverage was largely critical, with outlets highlighting the contradictions in Harry’s witness statement and the apparent lack of hard evidence for his claims to be the victim of phone hacking and other illegal activity by journalists working for the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and People.
MAIL: He must have longed for the schmaltzy embrace of Oprah! #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/Yv26QmAXbv
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 6, 2023
The Daily Mail, whose publisher is being sued by Harry and a group of other claimants over alleged illegal use of private investigators, used its front page to declare: “He Must Have Longed For the Schmaltzy Embrace of Oprah!”
In a front-page report, writer Jan Moir declared: “Time after time, it seemed to me the prince struggled to convincingly verify the facts of his case and had an alarmingly faint grasp on detail.”
The Mail’s parent company is waiting to find out whether Harry will be allowed to bring his case against the newspaper company to trial. Harry is continuing to fight a separate libel claim against the newspaper group, while his wife – Meghan, Duchess of Sussex – has already won one privacy claim against the Mail on Sunday.
EXPRESS: ‘Game Changer’ new drug to slim down nation #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/TjlzOyheae
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 6, 2023
The Daily Express, whose editor was accused during the Mirror Group Newspaper trial of being “involved in phone hacking” while at another title, focused on how Harry had broken royal protocol by criticising Rishi Sunak’s government and its relationship with the media.
THE SUN: Me, Hewitt…and that two-faces s**t Burrell #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/aQsAqEcutL
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 6, 2023
The Sun, which is being sued by Harry in a separate phone-hacking case, called Harry the “privacy-seeking prince” who “contradicted himself” in evidence. Harry is waiting to find out if he will be able to take his case against Rupert Murdoch’s tabloid to trial in January.
THE TIMES: Duke launches political attack #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/gpRs5IXNSA
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 6, 2023
The Times, which is owned by the same company as the Sun, focused on the prince’s “political attack” on the government and how royal convention had been “discarded”.
MIRROR: Knight These Heroes #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/eE4KbZ9voh
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 6, 2023
The Mirror, aware of its central role in the trial, went with a relative muted “Harry vs the Press” to summarise the prince’s case against itself.
TELEGRAPH: Bombing of dam ‘a new low’ for Russia #TomorrowsPapersToday pic.twitter.com/1bZLYLZa4j
— Neil Henderson (@hendopolis) June 6, 2023
The Daily Telegraph is one of only three national newspapers not owned by a publisher being sued by Prince Harry. (The others are the Guardian and the Financial Times.)
It concluded that Harry had seen “cracks appear” in his evidence and he “struggled to prove his phone-hacking claims”.
