Prince Harry Reacts After Phone Hacking Case Win
Prince Harry says today is a "great day for truth" after a partial victory in the phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers.
On Dec. 15, a judge in London's High Court ruled that there was "extensive" phone hacking by the company from 2006 to 2011 and that the Duke of Sussex's phone was likely hacked "to a modest extent" by Mirror Group Newspapers.
According to NBC News, Harry, who won on 15 of 33 articles submitted for use in the trial, was awarded £140,600 (about $180,000).
Following the judge's ruling, a lawyer for the royal—who now lives in California with wife Meghan Markle and their kids Prince Archie, 4, and Princess Lilibet, 2—shared that he wasn't able to make it to the hearing due to the "short notice." However, a statement was read on Harry's behalf about the "momentous win."
"Today is a great day for truth as well as accountability," the message began, adding that the High Court ruled that "unlawful" activities were carried out at all three of Mirror Group's newspaper titles (The Mirror, The Sunday Mirror and The People).
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"I'd like to thank my legal team for so successfully dismantling the sworn testimony of Mirror Group Newspaper's senior executives, legal department and journalists who at least turned up to Court, unlike their colleagues, who were perhaps too afraid to do so," Harry, who got choked up on the witness stand back in June, continued. "The journey to justice can be a slow and painful one, and since bringing my claim almost five years ago, defamatory stories and intimidating tactics have been deployed against me and at my family's expense. And so, as I too have learnt through this process, patience is in fact a virtue–especially in the face of vendetta journalism."
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The 39-year-old went on to call for "free and honest" press around the world.
"Today's ruling is vindicating and affirming," Harry's statement concluded. "I've been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today's victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press–it's a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues."
A spokesperson for Mirror Group Newspapers also issued a statement after the judge's ruling on Dec. 15.
"We welcome today's judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago," they said. "Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation."
To revisit Harry's comments about the press and royal life in his memoir Spare, keep reading…
(E! and NBC are both part of the NBCUniversal family.)
