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Hello, and welcome to Palace Intrigue. I'm your host, Mark Francis.
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Prince Harry arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice in
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London shortly after eleven am on Wednesday to give evidence
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in his legal battle against the publisher of The Daily Mail.
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Dressed in a suit and tie, the Duke of Sussex
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waved briefly to waiting photographers as he entered the building,
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sheltered from the rain by aid, holding an umbrella. Earlier
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in the morning, a source close to Harry issued a
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defiant statement ahead of his appearance, saying safe to say
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he's ready. The source added A and L, publishers of
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the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday and Mail Online, and
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their legal team have had months to inform the court
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that their opening argument would last less than two hours. Instead,
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they have had to resort to game playing in dirty tricks,
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consistent with the way they have treated not just the
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Duke but all of the victims in this case. As
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proceedings prepared to begin, the court was reminded that the
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case sentence on allegations of unlawful information gathering by associated
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newspapers limited. The claims date back to articles published between
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two thousand and one and twenty thirteen, and include allegations
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of voicemail interception, use of private investigators, and other intrusive practices.
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A and L strongly denies wrongdoing and argues the claims
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were brought too late. Harry was sworn in shortly after arriving,
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though the court was briefly adjourned due to technical issues
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with a virtual link, prompting the Duke to leave the
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court room momentarily with his legal team. Before questioning began,
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Harry clarified how he wished to be addressed. Asked about protocol,
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he replied bluntly, same as last time, before confirming that
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meant Prince Harry. Within minutes of taking the stand, Harry
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made his first pointed reference to the royal family. Questioned
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by A and l's barrister, Anthony White KC about why
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he did not complain at the time the articles were published,
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Harry said it was because of the institution he was in.
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Referenced the royal motto saying never complain, never explain, he added,
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to a certain extent. But I would not have been
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able to complain about them anyway because of the institution
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I was in, Harry told the court that his private
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information appeared in the press, his circle of trust steadily shrank.
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He said the kind of detail published was not information
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he would have spoken about openly. In his witness statement,
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Harry described the long standing mistrust of the media, writing
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following the death of my mother in nineteen ninety seven
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when I was twelve years old, and her treatment at
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the hands of the press, I have always had an
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uneasy relationship with them. However, as a member of the institution,
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the policy was to never complain, never explain. There was
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no alternative. I was conditioned to accept it. He told
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the court that this approach changed dramatically after his relationship
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with Meghan became public. In late twenty sixteen, When my
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relationship with Megan, my now wife, became public, I started
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to come increasingly troubled by the approach of not taking
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action against the press in the wake of vicious, persistent
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attacks on, harassment of and intrusive, sometimes racist articles concerning Megan.
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The situation got worse when she became pregnant and after
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our son, Archie was born. Harry explained that taking legal
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action in twenty nineteen marked the first time he had
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independent legal representation outside the Royal Institution, adding until that
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point this had never occurred to me to be a possibility.
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As questioning continued, Harry grew visibly frustrated when White suggested
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that journalists such as Mail on Sunday Royal correspondent Katie
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Nickel may have been part of his social circle. Harry responded,
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sharply good for her. When it was suggested she attended
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similar events, including polo matches and nightclubs, he replied, everybody
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knew who she was, so nobody would be loose lipped
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around her. He added, if the sources were so good
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and she was hanging out with all my friends, than
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why was she using private investigators. At one point, the
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judge was forced to intervene, reminding Harry that he was
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there to answer questions rather than argue his case. You
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don't have to bear the burden, the judge told him.
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Harry responded that he felt pressure to add context, saying
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A and L had done a good job of stripping
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out color from the points being made. He said context
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mattered when you're under twenty four hour surveillance. Harry strongly
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denied claims that his friends were a source of leaks,
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telling the court he cut off relationships whenever he became suspicious.
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He said he had lost touch with friends as a result.
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Discussing articles from the mid two thousands, Harry said the
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level of detail published made him feel part of an
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endless pursuit, a campaign, an obsession of having every aspect
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of my life under surveillance. He said it left him
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paranoid beyond belief and accused newspapers of wanting to drive
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me to drugs and drinking to sell more of their papers.
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Also claimed personal information could have been obtained through hacked voicemails.
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When White suggested comments about his relationship with Chelsea Davy
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could only have come from friends, Harry replied, the quote
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is being attributed to three strangers. You are now trying
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to suggest that these strangers are some of my closest friends.
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That does not add up. These three people have never
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shared anything with anybody. If they had, there would be
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a lot more out there. In his written statement, Harry
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described the impact of media attention on his former girlfriend,
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Chelsea Davy. This sort of intrusion was terrifying for Chelsea.
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It made her feel like she was being hunted. The
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press had caught her and it was terrifying for me too,
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because there was nothing I could do to stop it.
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He added, their behavior and treatment of Chelsea was not normal.
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I was really worried something bad was going to happen.
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Before the lunch adjournment, Harry was asked where the stories
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about his romantic life were in the public interest. He
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replied that he was pinned to many women he was
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not act actually in relationships with, and said such coverage
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was not in the public interest more palasing just a moment.
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As the afternoon session got under way, questioning shifted from
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cross examination to re examination, marking a change in turn
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inside the court room. Anthony White Casey, acting for Associated
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Newspapers Limited, concluded his cross examination of Prince Harry, bringing
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to an end a lengthy and at times tense exchange.
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The Duke then returned to the witness box to be
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questioned by his own barrister, David Sherborne. Before that transition,
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Harry was asked about his awareness of the campaign group
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Hacked Off. He told the court he had only become
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aware of the organization in the last four or five years.
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Responding directly to White, Harry said, I happened to think
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they do fantastic work, mister White. White replied, I'm pleased
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to hear it. White suggests that if Harry had wanted
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to pursue concerns about the fourteen articles at the heart
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of the case, an obvious inquiry or port of inquiry
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would have been hacked off to see what support they
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could give you. Harry rejected that idea, telling the court
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that he did not believe that would have been acceptable
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or even an option, because of his position within the
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royal family. Moments later, during re examination, the atmosphere of
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the court shifted noticeably as Harry became visibly emotional while
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describing the impact of the litigation itself. In a poignant moment,
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his voice cracked as he told the court that his
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treatment by the publisher had intensified since he began taking
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legal action. He said his treatment had only got worse
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since the litigation began, and added, they continued to come
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after me. They have made my wife's life an absolute misery.
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My Lord. The court fell quiet as the Duke paused,
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struggling to maintain composure before questioning continued. At one point
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during cross examine, Anthony White questioned Harry about a Facebook
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profile under the name mister mischief to contact a mail
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on Sunday journalist. The barrister suggested that Harry had interacted
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with Charlotte Griffiths, who he claimed moved with the Duke's
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social circles. Harry Flatley denied the claims, saying he had
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never used the name mister mischief and that he had
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no idea whether he had exchanged messages with Griffiths on Facebook.
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The High Court has adjourned until ten thirty am on Thursday.
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Barrister David Sherborne, acting for Prince Harry and other claimants,
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told the court that the group was not in a
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position to have anyone else ready to give evidence on Wednesday,
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bringing the day's proceedings to a close. King Charles has
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returned to London and is continuing with official duties, being
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far too busy to meet with Harry, despite Harry being
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two miles away. On Wednesday morning, the King attended a
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reception in support of Indonesian conservation efforts at Lancaster House,
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located next door to his Clarence House residence. During the engagement,
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the Monarch met with the President of Indonesia, Prabowo Subianto.
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The two were scheduled to continue discussions in a private
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audience later in the day at nearby Saint James Palace.
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And there you have it. If you'd like to email us,
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who addresses the Palace Intrigue at gmail dot com. Please
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follow us on Spotify and Apple or the Apple Choice.
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Find us on Facebook, Instagram or the social media hubs.
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I'm Mark Franti's my thanks to John McDermott. This is
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Palace Intrigue and good times.