Prince Harry escalated his battle with Britain's tabloid press this week, as his lawyers told London's High Court that Prince William and Princess Kate were also allegedly targeted by investigators working for the publisher of the Daily Mail.
The Duke of Sussex, along with six other high-profile figures including singer Elton John, his husband David Furnish, and actress Sadie Frost, is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for alleged serious privacy breaches dating back decades. The claimants accuse the publisher of using unlawful methods such as voicemail interception, blagging, and even burglary. ANL has rejected the accusations, calling them "lurid" and "preposterous."
During Wednesday's hearing, Harry's lawyer David Sherborne said new evidence pointed to ANL's involvement in gathering confidential information on William and Kate. Court filings referenced an invoice titled "Out of Africa Story Royal Party Enqs," dated August 2003, two months after William's 21st birthday celebration at Windsor Castle. Sherborne argued that details about the event were obtained through "blagging" - the practice of securing private data under false pretenses, which is illegal in the U.K.
Another record allegedly showed that a Mail journalist hired a private investigator to carry out a "mobile phone conversion" linked to Kate, then William's girlfriend, involving a contact list of "family and friends."
The allegations widen the scope of the case, which already involves claims that ANL targeted celebrities, politicians, and business figures over a 30-year span. Frost and Furnish attended the hearing in person, while Harry listened remotely. The trial is scheduled to begin in early 2026.
ANL's legal team sought to have parts of the claim thrown out, arguing that the plaintiffs were improperly relying on findings from separate lawsuits against other publishers such as Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers and the publisher of the Daily Mirror. Antony White, ANL's lawyer, accused the claimants' side of being "tin-eared" or defiant of previous court rulings.
Harry's campaign against the press has become a defining feature of his public life since stepping back from royal duties. He has previously won a libel case against ANL, while Meghan Markle succeeded in her own privacy suit against the publisher. He also secured damages from Mirror Group Newspapers, while Murdoch's News Group settled his claim before trial.
The litigation is the first time ANL has been formally dragged into the phone-hacking scandal that engulfed the British press nearly two decades ago. Harry has long argued that illegal press practices not only eroded his relationships but also contributed to the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while being chased by photographers.
Sherborne told the court that the new allegations against William and Kate underscore how deeply the alleged intrusions cut into the private lives of the royal family. The case, he argued, shows the need to hold powerful media organizations accountable for decades of unlawful behavior.
