Prince Harry took to the witness stand in UK court this week: Here’s what’s going on

Prince Harry became the archetypal high-ranking British royal to instrumentality to the witnesser basal successful much than 130 years this week, seeking justness for helium and woman Meghan Markle aft what helium described arsenic years of hounding by the U.K. press.

Harry — King Charles' III's youngest son, who stepped down from royal duties successful 2020 — spent a day-and-a-half giving grounds to London's High Court implicit claims that helium had been unlawfully targeted, including via telephone hacking, by Mirror Group Newspapers' (MGN) titles.

MGN has denied utilizing amerciable methods to get accusation astir the prince.

The 38-year-old, who was represented successful tribunal by lawyer David Sherborne, claimed the intrusion had sustained for a play of 15 years, from erstwhile helium was a kid done to his mid-twenties, destroying his adolescence and ruining relationships, including with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

Though the allegations pre-date his narration with Meghan, Harry told the tribunal helium was motivated to bring the lawsuit aft a accidental brushwood with Sherborne, erstwhile they discussed ways to "stop the abuse, intrusion and hatred that was coming towards maine and my wife."

Prince Harry is 1 among implicit 100 claimants, including actors and actresses, who are suing MGN implicit allegations of unlawful information-gathering implicit a two-decade play from 1991 to 2011.

The radical claims that elder editors and executives astatine MGN were alert of and encouraged the wrongdoing, including telephone hacking — the amerciable interception of voicemails.

MGN, steadfast of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, has antecedently admitted that its titles were liable for telephone hacking. But MGN's lawyer Andrew Green said determination was nary grounds to amusement Harry was a victim.

Green described the allegations arsenic "total speculation," saying that immoderate accusation published by the papers had travel from elder Buckingham Palace aides, portion different stories were based connected details already made public.

However, Harry said that intimate details astir his break-up with Davy and an statement they had implicit a sojourn helium made to a portion nine were not nationalist and had alternatively been obtained by telephone hacking and a tracking instrumentality connected her car.

The prince besides broke royal protocol successful saying that helium believed the U.K. authorities and media had deed "rock bottom," and suggesting that his mother, Princess Diana, had been a unfortunate of telephone hacking anterior to her decease successful a car mishap successful 1997.

"I judge telephone hacking was connected an concern standard crossed astatine slightest 3 of the papers astatine the clip and that is beyond doubt," Harry told the court.

"To person a determination against maine and immoderate different radical that travel down maine with their claims, fixed that Mirror Group person accepted hacking ... I would consciousness immoderate injustice," helium added.

Harry's testimony, which concluded Wednesday, forms portion of the seven-week proceedings that is owed to reason successful June, with a verdict expected aboriginal successful the year.

The suit is 1 of a bid of cases of wrongdoing the prince has brought against U.K. quality groups, including Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers and Associated Newspapers, steadfast of the Daily Mail.

The British tabloid media has a years-long past of utilizing telephone hacking and amerciable means to get stories. In 2011, Murdoch-owned News International was recovered blameworthy of the signifier wrong the now-defunct News of the World and different British newspapers.

Other papers person besides since been implicated successful akin practices.

Harry's brother, Prince William, was successful April recovered to person settled phone hacking claims against Murdoch's U.K. paper limb successful 2020 for a "very ample sum" pursuing a concealed woody struck with Buckingham Palace.