Prince Harry slams UK government and 'vile' press behavior
June 6, 2023
The son of King Charles III made a break with tradition to condemn close ties between the UK media and government. Prince Harry also added that he has suffered a lifetime of "press invasion."
Prince Harry appeared at the High Court in London, having missed the first day on MondayImage: Thomas Krych/ZUMA Press Wire/dpa/picture alliance
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Prince Harry on Tuesday became the first UK royal in more than a century to give evidence in court — and accused some British newspapers of having blood on their hands.
In a break with protocol, the fifth-in-line to the throne also condemned the British government and press for failing to hold one another to account. UK royals usually follow the same practice as the monarch, who as Britain's head of state is supposed to be above politics.
The 38-year-old has a turbulent relationship with the press, holding newspapers and paparazzi responsible for the death of his mother Princess Diana.
What did Harry tell the court?
Harry, who is suing a British tabloid publisher for illegal information-gathering, told London's High Court he had suffered "press invasion most of my life up until this day."
Harry, the younger son of King Charles, told the court he had been caricaturized by the press in a negative light and that it had damaged his mental health.
"How much more blood will stain their typing fingers before someone can put a stop to this madness," he said in a witness statement.
"You're then either the 'playboy prince', the 'failure', the 'dropout' or, in my case, the 'thicko', the 'cheat', the 'underage drinker', the 'irresponsible drug taker', the list goes on."
"As a teenager and in my early 20s, I ended up feeling as though I was playing up to a lot of the headlines and stereotypes that they wanted to pin on me... It was a downward spiral," he said, saying the reporting had been "utterly vile."
The prince has accused the government of being "scared" to hold the press accountable and launched a tirade against both of them in his testimony.
"On a national level, at the moment, our country is judged globally by the state of our press and our government, both of which I believe are at rock bottom," his statement said.
"Democracy fails when your press fails to scrutinize and hold the government accountable, and instead choose to get into bed with them so they can ensure the status quo."
He is the first senior British royal to give evidence for 130 years, with the last being Queen Victoria's eldest son, Bertie, who became King Edward VII. He appeared in two cases: a dispute over card cheating and a divorce hearing.
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What is the case about?
Harry and more than 100 others are suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which publishes the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, over alleged widespread wrongdoing between 1991 and 2011.
Harry's is one of four test cases, with his specific allegations being the focus of the first three days of this week.
Lawyers for the claimants are seeking to prove that unlawful information gathering was conducted with the knowledge and approval of senior editors and executives.
MGN did apologize at the start of the trial after admitting staff had unlawfully sought information about Harry on one occasion. It has previously admitted its titles were guilty of phone hacking and has settled more than 600 claims.
However, MGN's lawyer claims there is no evidence that Harry was ever a victim of phone hacking, and it rejected the accusation of further unlawful actions.
King Charles' coronation in pictures
In Britain's first coronation in nearly 70 years, traditions dating back centuries took center stage.
Image: Dan Charity/AP/picture alliance
It's official
Charles has been officially crowned with St Edward's Crown by the Archbishop of Canterbury while he sat in the 700-year-old oak Coronation Chair. Such extravagant ceremonies have been held to crown British monarchs for more than 1,000 years. Charles, 74, was the 40th sovereign to be enthroned in Westminster Abbey, and the oldest.
Image: Jonathan Brady/PA/REUTERS
The crown
The solid gold St Edward's Crown was made for the coronation of Charles II in 1661. Bedecked with more than 400 precious stones, it is only ever allowed to be used to crown a new monarch.
Image: Kirsty Wigglesworth/REUTERS
The chair
The Coronation Chair, which was once gilded, has a sacred slab known as the Stone of Scone — kept in Scotland nowadays — placed under the seat for the ceremony. Scottish kings were crowned on the same slab.
Image: Kirsty O'Connor/PA Wire/picture alliance
The venue
Westminster Abbey has been the royal coronation church since 1066. More than 2,000 guests have been invited to the ceremony of King Charles III's coronation.
Image: Gareth Cattermole/Getty Images
The queen
Charles' wife is now officially known as Queen Camilla, not "queen consort." The title does not change her role as a royal, but marks a milestone in the 75-year-old's road to rehabilitating her image — from someone once seen as "the other woman" in Charles' first marriage to Princess Diana. In a break from tradition, Camilla did not wear the crown sporting the controversial Koh-i-Noor diamond.
Image: Gareth Cattermole/REUTERS
The balcony
The newly crowned king and queen returned to Buckingham Palace after the ceremony, where they appeared on the balcony with other royals to applause and chants from thousands of supporters. Prince Andrew, Charlers' brother, and Prince Harry, the king's younger son, were not on the balcony.
Image: Leon Neal/AP Photo/picture alliance
The heir
Prince William, who is next in line to be king, knelt before his father and pledged his loyalty as his "liege man of life and limb."
William's three children are second, third and fourth in line to the throne.
Image: Yui Mok/AP Photo/picture alliance
The spare
Prince William's younger brother, Harry, arrived at the ceremony alone. It had been previously announced that his wife Meghan, battling with British tabloid papers along with her husband, would remain at home in California. May 6 is their son Archie's fourth birthday. Harry waited outside the abbey while Charles and other royals joined a military procession after the ceremony.
Image: Andy Stenning/REUTERS
The brother
Charles' younger brother Prince Andrew has been sidelined in recent years amid a backlash over his friendship with the late convicted sex-offender Jeffrey Epstein.
The 63-year-old has also come under fire for sexual abuse allegations by one of Epstein's victims, which was settled out of court. Andrew was reportedly booed as he headed to Westminster Abbey.
Image: Roland Hoskins/AP/picture allaince
The exes
Liz Truss, the last prime minister to serve under Queen Elizabeth's reign and the first under Charles', was among the attendees, as well as her predecessor Boris Johnson. Johnson's acrimonious exit provided the soundtrack for the last weeks of Elizabeth II's rein, Truss' economic mismanagement was the mood music only for a vanishingly brief period of Charles' tenure.
Nick Cave is just one of the many musicians and artists invited to the coronation. Judi Dench, Emma Thompson and Lionel Richie were also seen at the ceremony. Celebrity publications reported in the run-up to the ceremony that a number of prominent artists, including Sir Elton John, Ed Sheeran, Adele and Robbie Williams, declined invitations, albeit citing prior commitments.
Image: Jane Barlow/PA/AP/picture alliance
The fans
Thousands of people gathered to celebrate Charles' coronation, with some royal fanatics camping out on The Mall for days to secure a spot for the event. Crowds chanted "God Save the King" and waved the Union Jack flags. Around 7,000 troops marched at Buckingham Palace.
Image: Bruce Adams/AP Photo/picture alliance
The anti-monarchy protests
Not everyone is a fan of the royals. Anti-royal protesters waved flags that read, "Abolish the Monarchy" and "Not my King." The demosntrators demanded an elected head of state, saying there was no place for a royal family in a modern constitutional democracy, and that the monarchy was staggeringly expensive to maintain — especially amid the current cost-of-living crisis.
Image: Piroschka van de Wouw/AP/picture alliance
The police
London police arrested several of the protest organizers and reportedly seized hundreds of their placards shortly before Saturday's ceremony. The British government had earlier this week rushed into law new powers new anti-protest powers.
Image: Scot Garfitt/AP Photo/picture alliance
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The media company says some of the personal information came from senior royal aides, including from one of his father's former top officials.
In his memoir "Spare" and a Netflix documentary series, the prince accuses his family and their aides of colluding with newspapers at his expense to enhance their reputations.
Harry did not appear on Monday, having only left the United States, where he now lives with his American wife Meghan, the previous evening. Judge Timothy Fancourt said he was surprised at the absence.
He blames paparazzi for causing the car crash that killed his mother and claims that harassment and intrusion — including racist coverage — led him and his wife, Meghan, to flee royal life in the UK in 2020.
