King Charles is set for a headache as Prince Harry is going to claim that the monarch “discouraged” the duke’s legal battle, the High Court has heard.
Mr Justice Fancourt revealed that the Duke of Sussex will argue at trial in January that his father “acted to discourage and stymie him” from pursuing legal action against News Group Newspapers (NGN).
The judge was quoting a document filed by Prince Harry’s legal team.
His case concerns accusations of “blagging”, obtaining confidential details about him by deception, and other unlawful invasions of privacy.
King Charles set for headache as Prince Harry to claim monarch ‘discouraged’ duke’s legal battle
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On Friday, the judge granted the Duke of Sussex access to a cache of Buckingham Palace emails sent between two of the most senior members of the royal household and specific senior executives at NGN.
Prince Harry’s barrister David Sherborne told the court the emails could help uncover alleged secret negotiations between the Palace and the publisher of The Sun.
He said: “Emails between NGN and the Palace would be highly relevant in terms of providing the full picture not only as to the actual knowledge of the claimant but also as to the position in relation to constructive knowledge, based on what the Palace was being told by NGN.”
The judge added: “It seems to me that there is a limited category of documents where despite the element of delay, and despite the relative lateness of the application, there is a credible case for saying a full picture is necessary in the interest of justice.
The Duke of Sussex is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) at the High Court in LondonPA“I will, however, limit the documents that are being sought.”
The Duke of Sussex, 40, had asked for access to “relevant emails sent between five email accounts of NGN employees and five employees of the royal household” between January 2013 and September 2019.
The royal household employees “are those involved in royal communications and the private secretaries to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II” – who during that period were Sir Christopher Geidt and Sir Edward Young.
The NGN employees included Rebekah Brooks, chief executive of News UK, her predecessor, Mike Darcey, and Robert Thomson, chief executive of News Corp.
Prince Harry’s bitter legal battle against NGN set to go to trial in 2025
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Prince Harry previously alleged that Buckingham Palace had a “secret agreement” with Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper group.
He claimed his grandmother knew about the deal, under which the Royal Family agreed not to sue the publisher in return for an apology and settlement at a later date.
The allegation was strongly denied by all sides and rejected as “implausible” by a judge, who did not allow it to form part of his case.
In March 2023, the Duke of Sussex revealed his brother, Prince William, had quietly settled a phone hacking claim for a “very large sum” against NGN, three years earlier.
The Duke of Sussex is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged invasions of privacy from the mid-1990s until 2016
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The court heard some emails had already been provided to the Duke of Sussex by Brooks as early as April last year, but Sherborne said these had been “cherry-picked”.
He alleged that further disclosure was “highly likely to be relevant” and may lead the court to draw “inescapable inferences”.
NGN opposed the “disproportionate, time-consuming and costly” bid, arguing that “extracting” the emails would cost £17,000.
Meanwhile, it emerged that Prince Harry is one of two remaining claimants still pursuing legal action against NGN after 39 others settled their cases.
Only Prince Harry and Tom Watson, the former deputy Labour leader, have opted to push on towards a trial, scheduled for January 2025.
Those who have agreed on settlements in recent months include singer Mel B, Alan Yentob, Alfie Allen, Ted Beckham, and Ben Elliot, Queen Camilla’s nephew.