Prince Harry has claimed he was “deprived” of his teenage years due to the actions of Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), as he returned to London to attend a trial against the publisher, which owns the Daily Mail. The royal joined Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost and Doreen Baroness Lawrence – other claimants – at London’s High Court on Monday for a hearing into a privacy case against ANL, which is being sued for alleged privacy breaches including phone-tapping.
Tune into our Royal Family Snapchat Show, every Monday exclusively on Snapchat
According to court documents obtained by The Independent, Harry felt “largely deprived” of his youth due to ANL.
Barrister David Sherbone said on behalf of the prince he is “troubled that, through Associated’s unlawful acts, he was largely deprived of important aspects of his teenage years.
He said: “In particular, suspicion and paranoia was caused by Associated’s publication of the unlawful articles: friends were lost or cut off as a result and everyone became a ‘suspect’ since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source of this information being provided to Associated’s newspapers.
“The claimant regards Associated’s unlawful acts to amount to a major betrayal given promises made by the media to improve its conduct following the tragic and untimely death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997.”
The BBC reported that ANL considers the claims to be “preposterous smears”.
Others involved in the suit, including Sir Elton John and Baroness Lawrence – mother of murder victim Stephen Lawrence – believe ANL took away their privacy through tapping their phones and other unlawful information gathering.
Barrister Sherborne said: “They are also mortified to consider all their conversations, some of which were very personal indeed, were tapped, taped, packaged and consumed as a commercial product for journalists and unknown others to pick over, regardless of whether or not they were published.
“They were heartbroken by the derogatory headline that Associated attached to it, clearly calculated to profit and generate public sensation about an event that they had so carefully guarded to keep precious.”
Monday marked the start of a four-day hearing which will decide if the case goes to trial, something ANL wants to avoid.
A statement from the publisher said: “Associated Newspapers, which owns the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, vigorously denies all the claims against it.”
Harry’s trip to the UK also coincides with his father King Charles being in the country, after his visit to France was postponed at the last minute.
However it is not thought the pair are planning to meet due to the King’s busy schedule.
