Prince Harry has another legal battle brewing as his trial against the Mirror Group Newspapers fast approaches. The lawsuit stems from previously published articles by the media group using information obtained from various high-profile figures over the years. Many of these public figures have since sued the publisher for unlawful information gathering. However, only four representative claimants, including Prince Harry, are expected to stand in for the larger group as test cases in the London court trial.
Mirror Group Apologizes to Prince Harry
The legal battle has taken a surprising turn as the newspaper company offered the Sussex royal their unreserved apology as the trial commenced. Mirror Group Newspapers issued the apology to Prince Harry in court filings presented on Wednesday, May 10. In the legal documents, the publisher apologized for one instance of unlawful information gathering against the 38-year-old. The apology read:
“MGN unreservedly apologises for all such instances o UIG, and assures the claimants that such conduct will never be repeated.”
The violation involved a 2004 incident where MGN allegedly hired a private investigator to tail the prince. They tasked the investigator with illegally obtaining information on Prince Harry’s activity at a London nightclub. The filing also noted that the violation warrants some form of compensation, per Sky News.
Aside from the nightclub incident, the prince and other claimants have accused the media group of incidents of voicemail hacking. However, MGN denied these claims. They also insist that some of the cases in the lawsuit have exceeded the statute of limitations. Notably, some of the cases involving Prince Harry allude to articles published as far back as 1996.
The trial against Mirror Group Newspapers at the London court commenced this week. Prince Harry’s Lawyer, David Sherborne, appeared in court on Wednesday, where he presented his written submission. However, the prince is not expected to appear in court until a later date in June 2023 despite making a brief trip to the U.K. for his dad’s coronation. The history-making court appearance would make Harry the first British royal to take to the witness stand.
The other claimants selected as test cases include actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife Fiona Wightman and actor Michael Turner.