A small victory among the numerous lawsuits that Prince Henry filed against several British tabloids. The High Court of London ruled this Friday in favor of the Duke of Sussex in a phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). According to the judge, there was "extensive" phone hacking by the group on the prince between 2006 and 2011. Meghan Markle's husband will receive €163,000 (£140,600) in damages for 15 of the 33 items he had asked to examine in this case.
It is one of many lawsuits the Duke of Sussex has brought against major UK newspaper publishers, including Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers and Daily Mail publishers Associated Newspapers Limited. Enrique, who has lived in the United States since 2020, rarely visits the United Kingdom and it was for one of these court hearings that he became the first high-ranking member of the British royal family to testify as a witness in a trial in more than 130 years. years.
In response to the verdict, Enrique's lawyer, David Sherborne, read a statement from the prince, who this time was not present in London, outside the court. "This case is not just about hacking, it is about a systemic practice of illegal and egregious behavior, followed by cover-up and destruction of evidence, the shocking scale of which can only be revealed through these procedures," the lawyer conveyed.
"I hope the court's ruling serves as a warning to all media organizations that have employed these practices and then similarly lied about them," the statement continued. "My commitment to pursuing this case is based on my belief in our collective need and right to a free and honest press. The mission continues."
In another of the cases that Enrique has open in court against several tabloids, for which he testified by videoconference last April, the prince revealed that his brother, Prince William, would have received a large sum of money as part of a deal to silence the illegal wiretapping of members of the British royal family that would have been carried out by tycoon Rupert Murdoch's publishing house, which had already faced multiple scandals for telephone and computer hacking.
Last year, Enrique already won a case against the Mail on Sunday for defamation. He then filed a lawsuit after the tabloid published information about his claims to the High Court regarding his security arrangements in the United Kingdom following his resignation. The article said the prince "tried to keep his legal fight with the British government over police bodyguards a secret."
