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Dec 11, 2023

Prince Harry versus the Mirror

Presented by Nosheen Iqbal with Jim Waterson; produced by Natalie Ktena

Presented by Nosheen Iqbal with Jim Waterson; produced by Natalie Ktena and Solomon King; executive producer Phil Maynard

Thu 8 Jun 2023 22.00 EDT

Prince Harry became one of the most senior royals ever to give evidence in an English court this week. Jim Waterson reports from the high court in London where tabloid phone hacking was back under the microscope

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For Prince Harry's entire life, he has been the subject of media stories and of special interest to tabloid newspapers. Everything from childhood injuries to his early relationships, his entry to and exit from a military career right up to his marriage and subsequent departure from official royal life. Many of those stories were written, he claims, with the aid of illegal practices such as phone hacking.

As Jim Waterson tells Nosheen Iqbal, Harry is also suing the publishers of the Sun and the Daily Mail, but this week he got his day in court against the Mirror group. Under cross examination, he made his case that reporters seemingly had access to information that could only have come from underhand methods. The Mirror group has admitted to hacking phones in the past but maintains that Harry's was not one of them. Their case is that the information they printed was from sources close to the prince or already in the public domain.

A decision from the judge is not expected for weeks, but in raising the stakes by testifying publicly and resurfacing the issue of phone hacking, Harry has already achieved some of what he set out to do.

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