Prince harry phone hacking trial the stories at the centre of harrys latest tabloid fight mirror group newspapers 20230605 p5qjvw.html – Breaking News & Latest Updates 2026
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The stories at the centre of Prince Harry's latest tabloid fight

Natalie Oliveri
Natalie Oliveri

The Duke of Sussex will take to the witness stand in a matter of hours in London's High Court, arguing illegal tactics were used to uncover information about his private life.

Prince Harry is suing the is the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) who he claims employed illegal tactics to gain information about him, including phone hacking.

He'll be the first senior member of the British royal family to give evidence in court in 132 years.

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READ MORE: A deep dive inside Prince Harry's strained relationship with the press

Prince Harry will appear in a London court this week in his latest fight with the British tabloids. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

The duke and his legal team will present 33 sample stories published in the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People published between 1996 and 2010.

His lawyers say the articles were just some of the 147 they say came about after illegal newsgathering.

MGN says that in the vast majority of the sample, it can show the story was legitimately sourced.

READ MORE: Prince Harry to make history by giving evidence in court tomorrow

Here are some of the stories Prince Harry alleges were obtained through hacking.

Prince Harry's childhood

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A number of articles about Prince Harry as a young boy are at the centre of his claim.

The earliest allegation is from September 16 1996 when the Daily Mirror reported "Diana so sad on Harry's big day" – a story about the Princess of Wales spending just 20 minutes with him on his 12th birthday.

Prince Harry's childhood was the focus of many of the stories at the centre of his phone hacking case. WireImage

Another story, in 2000, claimed Harry had chosen to go rock climbing instead of celebrating the Queen Mother's 100th birthday at a party.

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Harry's legal team argues these stories can be traced back to records of payments to private investigators, while MGN claims that in both examples the information was in the public domain already.

Prince Harry's school days

The press intrusion followed the young prince to school at Eton, where a number of stories emerged about injuries on the sporting field.

Prince Harry played rugby and a number of other sports during his time at Eton. Tim Graham Photo Library via Get

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In November 2000, the Daily Mirror reported Harry had had "a minor operation" on his arm after a football-related injury, detailing specific advice doctors are said to have given the 16-year-old.

MGN's lawyers claim such articles were based on information given by the palace or from public knowledge at the school and not taken from private medical information.

Prince Harry's girlfriends

The biggest portion of the stories at the centre of the claim focus on his relationship with former girlfriend Chelsea Davy.

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Some of the headlines included "Harry is a Chelsy fan" and "Harry's girl 'to dump him'".

READ MORE: King Charles to offload beloved Welsh home under property shakeup

Prince Harry has previously claimed that one of the main reasons they separated was due to her being hounded by the press and photographers.

The alleged media intrusion "led Ms Davy to make the decision that 'a royal life was not for her', which was 'incredibly upsetting' for [Harry] at the time", he claims.

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Prince Harry and Chelsea Davy at the polo on July 30, 2006. Getty

Harry claims his private voicemails were intercepted, allowing journalists to find out where they were including during holidays that were top secret.

On one occasion, journalists had booked into the same remote Mozambique hotel as him and Davy which the newspaper says was information sourced from a local freelancer.

Prince Harry has blamed the newspapers' alleged activities for "huge bouts of depression and paranoia" during his teenage years.

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Prince Harry's partying days

Articles focusing on Prince Harry's partying days will also be examined including stories with headlines proclaiming "Harry's cocaine, Ecstasy and GHB parties" and "He just loves boozing & army. She is fed up & is heading home" which also touched on his relationship with Davy.

MGN argues the stories were in the public interest and that they had "a variety of legitimate routes and sources" for them.

One story in the Sunday Mirror story, from January 2002, reported that Harry's father, then-Prince Charles, had "given Harry a stern warning" for smoking cannabis.

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