The prince Henry of England has harshly attacked the press in his statement this Wednesday in the trial against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publishing group of the Daily Mail. The son of Carlos III has accused the tabloid of obtaining information about his private life through illegal methods and has assured that the press harassment It had a strong impact on his personal relationships for years. “They have done life impossible for my wife [Meghan Markle]”said Enrique, visibly moved, at the end of his intervention lasting more than three hours at the High Court of Justice of England and Wales.
The Duke of Sussex has submitted to questions from ANL’s lawyer, Antony Whitewho has tried to demonstrate the links between the prince and the journalists Kate Nicholl and Rebecca English, authors of much of the 14 items writings about his private life between 2001 and 2013 with information allegedly obtained from illegally. The defense lawyer has pointed out that both Nicholl and English moved in Enrique’s environment and had contact with people very close to him, something that would reinforce the thesis that they obtained the information from legitimate sources.
Illegal methods
But the duke has denied having an “unreliable social circle” and insisted that the information revealed in these articles, including details about trips with his ex-partner Chelsy Davy or the places where he or people close to him were, could only be known through illegal methods, including wiretappingaccess to messages in answering machines or the ‘blagging’the technique of impersonating other people to obtain confidential information. “They appeared everywhere. It was like full-blown harassment and constant vigilance”the prince has assured.
In his written testimony, revealed this Wednesday, Enrique has stated that his battle against the press dates back to the moment of the death of his motherthe princess Dianawhen he was 12 years old. Since then, the tabloids began a campaign of harassment against him that caused him episodes of “paranoia” and that led him to distrust your inner circle. At first he believed that the information published came from legitimate sources, but as time went by he gave more and more validity to the theory that the sensational media were hiring private investigators to do the dirty work.
Institutional role
The prince has indicated that, despite his suspicions, he could not take action against the press due to the policy of “no complain, no explain (not complaining and not giving explanations) that had prevailed for years in the British royal family. “There was no other alternative; I was conditioned to accept it.. In general, I accepted the interest in the performance of my public duties,” he points out in his written testimony. resigns from his duties as an active member of the royal family in 2020 freed him from this burden and allowed him to undertake a expensive and long legal battle against the main British tabloids.
This is the second time that Enrique testifies in court after his intervention in the trial against the Mirror group in 2023which ended with a historic victory for him. Shortly after, the prince had a second victory by reaching an out-of-court agreement with News Group Newspapers (NGN), the newspaper’s publishing group. The Sunwhich involved the payment of a millionaire compensation and an official apology. On this occasion, the son of Carlos III seeks his third victory along with seven other plaintiffs, including the musician Elton John and the actress Elizabeth Hurley —ex-partner of actor Hugh Grant—, in a trial that will last about nine weeks.
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