Jan. 22, 2026
Prince Harry Backs Elizabeth Hurley in Court as Mail Trial Turns Raw and Emotional
Prince Harry returns to the High Court for a fourth straight day, this time sitting in support as Elizabeth Hurley takes the witness stand in the explosive case against the publisher of the Daily Mail. Hurley delivers harrowing testimony, accusing the paper of landline tapping, live surveillance inside her home, stolen medical records and what she calls a “brutal invasion of privacy,” breaking down as she describes the toll on her family. Harry leaves court before lunch, a day after telling judges the Mail made Meghan’s life “an absolute misery,” while the defence argues the claims are unsupported and brought too late. Away from the courtroom, King Charles again keeps his distance despite being just miles away, and newly revealed witness statements show Harry naming William, Kate and his father as part of his account of how private royal communications may have been exposed.
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Callarogus Shark Media. He hello and welcome through palace intrigue
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game your host, Mark Francis. Prince Harry returned to the
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High Court on Thursday morning, a day after delivering his
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own highly emotional testimony to support fellow claimants in their
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legal action against the publisher of The Daily Mail. The
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Duke of Sussex, who told court on Wednesday that the
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Associated Newspapers Limited had made his wife's life an absolute misery,
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arrived for a fourth consecutive day at the Royal Courts
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of Justice as actress Liz Hurley took the witness stand
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to give evidence in the long running unlawful information gathering case.
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Shortly before tenney in, Hurley arrived at the Royal Courts
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of Justice accompanied by her son Damien. Prince Harry arrived
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separately around ten oh five. Early entered the witness box
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mid morning and began giving evidence in her legal action
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against Associated Newspapers Limited in the publisher of The Daily
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Mail and Mail on Sunday. She is one of seven
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high profile figures bringing claims of unlawful information gathering, which
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the publisher strongly denies. In her written evidence, Hurley told
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the court that The allegation her home land lines had
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been tapped had left her devastated. She said the Mail's
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unlawful acts against me involved landline tapping my phones and
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recording my live telephone conversations, placing surreptitious mics on my
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home windows, stealing my medical information when I was pregnant
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with Damien, and other monstrous, staggering things, She continued. Above all,
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it was the discovery that the mail had tapped the
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landlines of my home phones and tape recorded my live
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telephone conversations that devastated me. I had not come across
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this brutal invasion of privacy in either of my two
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battles with the other newspapers. I felt crushed. It represented
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the ultimate violation of privacy. Hurley drew a distinction between
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voicemail interception and live surveillance, telling the court there's a
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vast difference, both indefensible, between someone intercepting a voicemail and
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someone listening in on every single phone call in your
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home and concealing a tape recorder and attaching it to
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your home bt wiatt to record your live telephone conversations.
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I was seething when I discovered the mail did this
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to me. As questioning continued, Hurley became visibly emotional While
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being shown articles connected to her claim. She declined to break,
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composing herself before continuing. Asked by A and L's barrister
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Anthony White k C Way she had not complained about
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the articles at the time they were published between two
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thousand and two and twenty eleven, Hurley replied that, in
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her understanding, complaints were for libel. She added they the
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articles were, in essence true. I believe that is because
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people were listening to me speak. I know that has
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not for me to discuss and give my opinion on.
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She told the court. There was only deeply hurtful and
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damaging articles about me and the media it became just
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a business of unpleasantness. Addressing suggestions that information came from
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her social circle, Hurley said, yes, there were leaks, but
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they were not from my friends. Before the lunch break,
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Hurley broke down again while speaking about the impact on
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her family, saying everyone's privacy is being invaded in this
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terrible way and I feel very helpless about that. Prince
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Harry left the court shortly before twelve forty five pm
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after attending the morning session. And support of the other claimants.
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After proceedings resumed in the afternoon, questioning focused heavily on
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whether Hurley could have brought her claim earlier, a central
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plank of A and L's defense, which argues the case
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has been brought too late. In re examination by her
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own barrister, David Sherborne, Hurley rejected the suggestion that friends
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had briefed journalists anonymously on her behalf, calling the idea preposterous.
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As she concluded her evidence, Hurley told the court, with
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all due respect, I don't really want to be here.
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I don't really like talking about things that have happened
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to me in the past, and I find it very painful.
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In written submissions, Anthony White k C said the allegations
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of unlawful information gathering by Associated's journalists, including of phone
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hacking and phone tapping, inconnection with Miss Hurley or her
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ten named associates, are unsupported by the evidence before the court.
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The court finished early with no further witnesses scheduled to
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give evidence on Friday. King Charles is, of course far
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too busy to meet with Harry. He departed London on
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Wednesday without seeing his youngest son, despite the two being
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just over two miles apart. As Prince Harry gave emotional
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evidence at the High Court, more pallis in just a moment,
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Prince Harry has named William and Kate in a written
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witness statement submitted to the High Court. In the document,
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the Duke of Sussex described his relationship with his brother
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and the way they shared private information. He wrote, due
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to his position, the press have always been very interested
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in him as brother, we naturally discussed personal aspects of
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our lives as we trusted each other with the highly
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sensitive information we shared about our private, family and professional lives.
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Princess Catherine was also referenced in the statement, though only briefly.
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Her entry read HRH the Princess of Wales my brother's wife.
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Harry additionally mentioned his father, King Charles, stating that they
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remained in contact during the period covered by the claim.
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He wrote, during the relevant period, my father and I
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were in regular contact. The Duke of Sussex added that
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voicemails left on the King's landline by himself, relatives and
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royal household staff contained highly personal, private and sensitive information.
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The witness statement is one element of the broader case
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which centers on allegations that private information was obtained through
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unlawful means. The publisher continues to reject the claims and
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is contesting the action in court. In The Express, Emily
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Ferguson writes tense, tetchy and tiery, describes Prince Harry's two
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hours on the witness, and it's an incredibly personal court
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case for him, with his evidence coming to a dramatic
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end yesterday when he described the idea that he shouldn't
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be entitled to a private life as disgusting. But the
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sheer emotion came when he spoke about the impact articles
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have had on the Duchess of Sussex, saying A and
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L have made my wife's life an absolute misery. His
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lips wobbled, voice cracked as he recalled the toll of
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thousands of articles of they've had on him and his family.
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Harry's resentment for being born into an institution where he
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felt unable to challenge what was being said about him
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in national newspapers was clear. In this case and the
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others brought against the press, is about reclaiming control. What
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started off as snappy, ill tempered remarks ended with the
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Duke showing his softer side as he discussed highly personal
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and private information that he claims was stolen from him.
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And there you have it. If you'd like to email
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us our addresses the Palacinric at gmail dot com. Please
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follow us on Spotify, Apple on the Apple Choice leaves
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a nice review from enjoining the show, and follow us
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on Facebook, Instagram, all the social media sites. A Mark
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rans has my thanks to John McDermott. This is balance
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and three good terms
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