Prince Harry is set to go to trial on Monday against Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloids, News Group Newspapers, for unlawful gathering of private information. The trial is expected to last several weeks and will focus on the tabloids’ practices of hacking phones and stealing personal data of celebrities, including Harry, in the 1990s to early 2010s.
Harry, who is not expected to take the stand for at least the first two weeks, is seeking damages for the intrusion into his personal life and for the harm caused by the publication of false information about him. His lawyers will present evidence showing that News Group executives concealed and sought to destroy evidence of hacking and other improper practices.
The trial is expected to be a high-stakes affair, with Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, citing 30 articles that span a period from 1996 to 2011, some of which asserted that Harry was a regular drug user. Harry’s lawyers will also present evidence of the tabloids’ hiring of private detectives and encouraging journalists to lie and misrepresent themselves to gain access to personal data.
The case is significant because it is one of the last remaining lawsuits against News Group, and Harry’s refusal to settle has led some to speculate that he is taking a risk by exposing himself to several days of cross-examination. However, Harry’s lawyers say that he is determined to take the matter to trial to expose what he believes is the tabloids’ egregious wrongdoing.
The trial is also significant because it may shed light on the practices of News Group executives, including Will Lewis, who is currently the publisher of The Washington Post. Lewis is accused of being part of a scheme to conceal evidence of hacking by removing files from a computer belonging to Rebekah Brooks, the chief executive of News U.K.
News Group has denied any wrongdoing and has argued that Harry is trying to turn the trial into a broader public inquiry into phone hacking. The judge in the case, Timothy Fancourt, has rejected several attempts by Harry’s lawyers to draw Rupert Murdoch into the case, saying that the trial should focus on the specific allegations made against News Group.
