Prince Harry told the High Court he was not friends with any Daily Mail journalists as he testified in a privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers. The suit — brought by Harry and six others including Elton John — alleges unlawful information gathering for 14 stories, including voicemail hacking, landline bugging and "blagging." Associated denies the claims and plans to call current and former journalists to justify their sourcing. The nine-week trial will hear testimony from all claimants and could have wider implications for tabloid reporting and privacy.
Prince Harry Tells High Court He Was Not Friends With Daily Mail Journalists As Privacy Trial Opens
Britain's Prince Harry arrives during the first week of a nine-week trial lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, which Britain's Prince Harry and others are suing over allegations of privacy breaches dating back 30 years, at the High Court in London, Britain, January 21, 2026. REUTERS/Toby Melville
Prince Harry told judges at London’s High Court that he was not friends with any journalists from the Daily Mail as he gave evidence on Wednesday in a high-profile privacy lawsuit against publisher Associated Newspapers.
Key Testimony And Allegations
The 41-year-old Duke of Sussex — making his second appearance in the witness box in three years — is one of seven claimants who accuse the publisher of using unlawful information-gathering methods to produce articles from the early 1990s into the 2010s. Their case focuses on 14 stories they say were created using voicemail hacking, bugging of landlines and "blagging" (deception to obtain private information).
"For the avoidance of doubt, I am not friends with any of these journalists and I never have been," Harry said in combative exchanges with the publisher’s counsel, Antony White. He also asked why private investigators — who have been linked to unlawful information-gathering — would be used if reporters truly had insiders in his social circle.
Defence And Wider Context
Associated Newspapers denies the allegations, calling them "preposterous smears" and arguing that its journalists relied on legitimate sources, including friends and acquaintances of the claimants and public statements from royal press officers. The publisher says current and former journalists will give evidence to explain their sourcing.
Britain's Prince Harry waves as he arrives to attend the start of the nine-week trial lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail, which Britain's Prince Harry and others are suing over allegations of privacy breaches dating back 30 years, at the High Court in London, Britain. REUTERS/Isabel Infantes
The other claimants include singer Elton John, his husband David Furnish, actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence and former lawmaker Simon Hughes. All are expected to give evidence during the nine-week trial.
Why The Case Matters
For Harry, who has long blamed intrusive tabloid reporting for the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a Paris car crash pursued by paparazzi, the trial is another chapter in an ongoing legal campaign against parts of the British tabloid press. He previously gave in-person evidence in 2023 — becoming the first royal in 130 years to testify in court in a media case — and has won earlier actions against Mirror Group Newspapers and secured settlements with Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper arm.
Harry was originally due to give evidence on Thursday, but his testimony was brought forward after Associated completed their opening arguments more quickly than expected.
Reporting: Sam Tobin and Michael Holden. Editing: Mark Heinrich.
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