It was a day Prince Harry has spent more than three years preparing for, the chance to finally confront his nemesis \u2014 Britain’s mighty Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) owned by the 4th Viscount Rothermere, a media organisation that has been a thorn in his side for as long as the 41-year-old royal can remember.<\/p>\n
The highly successful publisher speaks to middle England through its newspapers the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday and to a younger global “clickbait” audience through its constantly expanding MailOnline digital site.<\/p>\n
In the long build-up many wondered if there might be a last minute settlement, but neither side was blinking, both defiant, sabres drawn.<\/p>\n
And so last Monday the trial unpicking the legality of historic journalistic practices began. It’s expected to stretch out for nine weeks with Harry one of seven angry complainants.<\/p>\n The case is being heard at London’s High Court and is expected to take up to nine weeks.\u00a0 (AP: Alastair Grant<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n For the Duke of Sussex this case isn’t just about protecting his own family, though that is surely a key motivator, it’s about proving that the “never complain, never explain” business model that the royal “institution” traditionally adopts, is \u2014 as far as the Prince is concerned \u2014 inherently flawed.\u00a0<\/p>\n As an aggrieved private individual Harry is showing he can, and he believes he must, fight back. Even if “the Firm” won’t support him in his endeavour and financial costs run into tens of millions of dollars \u2014 which by the way, they are.<\/p>\n The venue is court 76 in London’s High Court, and this emotionally charged stand-off is the third and final legal battle for the former working royal who sensationally quit his regal day job to set up home in California with his wife and family in 2020.<\/p>\n Journalists are packed to the rafters. The prince would recognise many of them from the royal rota he so despises. And while the court is closed, with no cameras, every word and gesture is reported in real time on live blogs. Modern media in action.<\/p>\n The opportunity from Harry’s viewpoint to score a crucial line in the sand, is something he sees as a civic duty, to fight for privacy rights not just for him but for all, to demand a new world order of responsible reporting.<\/p>\n Harry the crusader, a prince in shining armour, out to “slay dragons”.\u00a0<\/p>\n Yes\u2026this is part of it. But always lurking in the background is Harry the angry young man who blames incessant media harassment for his mother’s death, his and brother Prince William’s troubled childhood. Harry also blames the media for the breakdown of his own romances, his wife’s traumatic experiences living in Britain and the continued attacks on his family by what he sees as a morally bankrupt tabloid media.\u00a0<\/p>\n Prince Harry’s mother, Diana, was hounded by photographers every time she left the house.\u00a0 (Reuters<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The suggestion from the UK media that as a senior royal he has no inherent right to privacy he says is “disgusting”.<\/p>\n ANL sees it rather differently of course. The publisher vehemently denies allegations of unlawful news gathering involving the suggested use of blagging, listening devices and criminal impersonation. They are “preposterous” ANL states. Their scribes were simply employing robust journalistic practices, hunting down leads and talking to sources, which for Harry’s stories allegedly came from his own social circle \u2014 a somewhat “leaky” bunch” as described by the Daily Mail’s barrister, Antony White QC.<\/p>\n The prince may not have liked what he saw in print, but their reporting was legitimate White explained, the sources \u2014 albeit unnamed in the articles \u2014 credible, the stories in the public interest.<\/p>\n Harry disagrees. He says some detail printed was completely fictitious \u2014 that he didn’t use a “Mr Mischief” moniker on Facebook was one example given. And the damaging effect of all those column inches devoted to his private life he described as devastating.\u00a0<\/p>\n The deeply personal details revealed, known to a tiny number of trusted close family and friends, left him “paranoid” and “terrified for his loved ones”. The prince felt his “every move, thought or feeling was being tracked and monitored just for the Mail to make money out of it”.<\/p>\n Harry says intrusion by media and paparazzi has affected him throughout life. (Supplied: Netflix<\/span>)<\/cite><\/p>\n<\/figcaption><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n The veracity of that defence will continue to be tested as the trial rolls out over the coming weeks.<\/p>\n Since this is a civil trial Harry’s fate will be decided by one person alone, Mr Justice Nicklin, and proving the alleged use of private investigators and unlawful listening devices will be right at the heart of the matter.<\/p>\nAn emotionally charged stand-off<\/h2>\n
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Harry is joined by six high profile figures<\/h2>\n