Prince Harry Testifies in Court About 'Hurtful' Chelsy Davy Breakup Stories: Full Recap

The Duke of Sussex appeared in court in London on Wednesday to continue testimony in his case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN)

Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, arrives at the High Court for his second day of giving evidence in his case in a group lawsuit against the Mirror Group Newspapers over alleged unlawful information gathering in London, United Kingdom on June 07, 2023
Prince Harry arrives in court on June 7. Photo:

Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Prince Harry arrived at the High Court of the Royal Courts of Justice in London on Wednesday to continue his testimony in his case against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

The Duke of Sussex began his testimony when he appeared in court on Tuesday. Harry filed a suit against MGN in 2019, alleging that his phone voicemails were hacked using unlawful information gathering. MGN is the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The Daily Express, among other newspapers.

Harry's appearance in court has historical significance. According to Reuters, Harry is the first senior member of the British royal family to give evidence in court in 130 years. The last royal to give evidence was King Edward VII, who testified before becoming king as a witness in a divorce case in 1870 and as well as a slander trial over a card game in 1890.

Over 100 people are suing MGN for alleged illegal activity between 1991 and 2022, and Prince Harry is one of four representative claimants whose cases were selected for trial. The trial started on May 10 and is expected to last seven weeks.

In Harry's Tuesday testimony, he revealed that the publication of articles by MGN had a deep impact on his personal life. “Every single time one of these articles was written it had an effect on my life,” he said in court on Tuesday. Harry also revealed that he grew concerned when his travel details began appearing in the MGN publications, even when the details weren't released by the Palace for security reasons. "I am at a complete loss as to how these details were obtained," he said.

The Duke of Sussex also revealed that the stories impacted his trust in his group of friends. When personal information you’ve only shared with 1-2 people appears in the newspapers, the Duke said, “Your circle of friends starts to shrink.”

  • Prince Harry's lawsuit against MGN covers stories that appeared in the newspaper between 2006 and 2011. Harry claims that MGN journalists were getting information about him and his friends through unlawful means, like voicemail hacking.
  • Prince Harry was "deeply disturbed" when details about his relationship with Chelsy Davy started to appear in tabloid stories, including information that could only have been learned about from private conversations between the two of them. One of the stories mentioned included a report that Davy yelled at Harry after he visited a strip club.
  • Prince Harry alleged that MGN pretended that they were getting information from Davy's friends and Palace sources but that the information was coming from allegedly hacked voicemails that he and Davy were leaving each other.
  • Prince Harry says a headline about a breakup with Davy titled 'HOORAY HARRY DUMPED' was "very hurtful."
  • Prince Harry alleged that he and his security team believed that paparazzi were using an "illegal device" to try to collect information when he went to poker nights with friends — including the late Caroline Flack — in 2009.
  • While the case covers 2006 to 2011, Harry claims the unusual activity on his phone has "never stopped."

Update: The liveblog has finished after Prince Harry ended his testimony.

Read More: The Full Recap of Prince Harry's First Day of Testimony

Prince Harry Stays in Court to Listen to Former Royal Editor's Testimony

June 07, 2023 10:05 AM EDT

Prince Harry remained in the courtroom after his testimony and heard testimony from Jane Kerr, the former assistant news editor and royal editor for The Mirror.

Prince Harry Says the Unusual Phone Activity 'Never Stopped' in Follow-Up Questions

June 07, 2023 10:04 AM EDT

The judge had a few follow-up questions for Prince Harry about his testimony.

When asked he first noticed unusual activity on his phone (as the case covers 1996 through 2011), Harry said it was "from the moment I had a mobile phone" when he started going to school at Eton.

When asked how long the unusual activity went on for, Harry said it "never stopped." He later added that he can't remember it stopping after 2011.

When the judge asked for what kind of unusual activity he noticed, Harry said it was "a lot of missed called that lasted one second, a lot of people asking me 'didn't you get my voicemail?' "

"When I was told [about the phone hacking], it all made sense."

Prince Harry Gets Emotional as He Wraps Up Testimony

June 07, 2023 09:48 AM EDT

Prince Harry has ended up his testimony for the trial.

When asked by his lawyer how he felt at the end of his testimony, Prince Harry told the court he felt "amazingly, at this point," adding that it's been "long." Harry appeared to get emotional as he answered this question from his lawyer.

Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of the Duke of Sussex giving evidence at the Rolls Buildings in central London during the phone hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers
Prince Harry (left) and his counsel David Sherborne in a courtroom sketch from June 7, 2023.

PA Images / Alamy Stock 

Prince Harry Says Info About Chelsy Davy's Move to Leeds Was Falsely Attributed to Palace Sources

June 07, 2023 09:43 AM EDT

When talking about a 2007 story about Chelsy Davy moving to Leeds, Prince Harry said he found the "whole article suspicious" since it referred to information from "a Palace source" that he had never discussed with anyone working for the Palace.

"I never discussed with the Palace any details about my relationship with my girlfriend," Harry said. "Everything attributed to a Palace source I believe was obtained unlawfully."

When asked if the journalists would have contacts with the Palace anyway, Harry said "the Palace wouldn't know this information."

When asked if the information came from an allegedly hacked voicemail, Harry said "the voicemail would have been listened to and then a story created around that."

Harry, added that "we [Harry and Chelsy] would have been trying to get hold of each other at a very stressful time in our relationship" and leaving each other a lot of voicemails.

Prince Harry on 'Hurtful' Headline About His Breakup with Chelsy Davy

June 07, 2023 09:39 AM EDT

When discussing a 2007 article about Prince Harry and Chelsy Davy's breakup, Harry opens up about how upsetting it was to see his private moments splashed across the tabloids.

Regarding the article's headline ('HOORAY HARRY'S DUMPED') Harry said, "was hurtful to say the least that such a private moment was turned into a bit of a laugh."

"To see that word [Hooray] used in this term was hurtful," Harry added. "The level of suveillance I was under was quite something."

Prince Harry Talks About 'Distressing' Article About His Poker Nights with Caroline Flack

June 07, 2023 09:36 AM EDT
Court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook of the Duke of Sussex giving evidence at the Rolls Buildings in central London during the phone hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers
Andrew Green KC (left) and Prince Harry in a courtroom sketch from June 7, 2023.

PA Images / Alamy Stock 

When talking about a 2009 article about a poker night with Mark Dyer and Caroline Flack, Prince Harry says he "ver much remembers when this article came out."

"I was so shocked — and livid - that the two photographers from IKON Pictures knew where we would be and were already there, waiting for us to arrive. They were hiding underneath a car."

"IKON Pictures stalked me for over a decade," Harry says. He adds that it was "distressing" to see their photographer outside the poker night venue on two different nights.

When discussing being spotted outside of the venue, Harry described how his security team tried to protect him.

After his security flashed strobe lights used to deter photographers, the photographers, who were in a car, "slammed in reverse and sped off at speed" and that a police vehicle nearby "turned on the blue lights" to pull them over. When security attempted to get out of the car to speak with the photographers, Harry says the photographer's car "went into the other side of the road, endangering people."

Harry says it was "not normal pap behavior" to swerve around and avoid security so that he and his team "believe there was an illegal device in the vehicle" which meant that they didn't want to be "stopped or searched" under any circumstance.

Prince Harry Claims MGN Made Fake Transcripts of Conversations with Chelsy Davy's Friends for Stories

June 07, 2023 09:33 AM EDT

Concerning a 2009 story about Prince Harry alleging trying to win Chelsy Davy back after a breakup, Harry was asked if he was aware that people close to Davy were talking about her to the media. Harry said he doubted that was happening.

When asked about a transcript of one of Davy's friends speaking to the media, Harry said he would "question the validity of this." Harry claims that it was taken from "a false e-mail to hide the true nature of how [MGN] got the information."

Prince Harry Discusses Story About Strip Club Visit and Fight with Chelsy Dave

June 07, 2023 09:28 AM EDT

In the second day of his testimony, Harry was questioned about stories concerning his then-girlfriend Chelsey Davy.

One of the stories discussed is a MGN item from 2006 about Harry visiting a Spearmint Rhino strip club and Davy reportedly being upset.

"My girlfriend’s number was bizarrely in the hands of Mirror journalists," Harry said. "Very suspicious that they had her number […] I don't believe she would give any journalist her number."

When asked if he thought that MGN had gotten ahold of Davy's phone records, Harry said "yes" but added that he thought "most of the evidence has been destroyed."

Harry also talked about a different article about a "make-or-break holiday" in Mozambique with Davy.

"Deeply concerned that would be published in advance," Harry said. "Another classic example of a story 'incentivizing' reporters to go and find out as much as possible."

rince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, arrives at the High Court for his second day of giving evidence in his case in a group lawsuit against the Mirror Group Newspapers over alleged unlawful information gathering in London, United Kingdom on June 07, 2023
Prince Harry arriving at court on June 7, 2023.

Wiktor Szymanowicz/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images

Read Prince Harry's Full Witness Statement

June 07, 2023 09:19 AM EDT

The Independent has published Prince Harry's full witness statement from Tuesday's testimony.

In the 55-page document, the Duke of Sussex claims that alleged unlawful actions taken by MGN journalists have "affected every area" of his life. "How much more blood will stain their typing fingers before someone can put a stop to this madness?” he write.

Read the Prince Harry's full witness statement here.

First Day Recap: Prince Harry Says He'll Facetime with Meghan Markle and Kids Following First Court Appearance

June 07, 2023 09:07 AM EDT

Prince Harry wrapped his appearance in a London court on Tuesday with a mention of his wife, Meghan Markle, and children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet.

The Duke of Sussex took the witness stand to testify against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged unlawful information gathering. At the end of the session, the judge told Harry to not discuss his evidence with anyone overnight. He joked in response by asking if that included his wife and children, noting he would be likely connecting with them on a Facetime call.

Read the full story: Prince Harry Says He'll Facetime with Meghan Markle and Kids Following First Court Appearance

Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrives to give evidence at the Mirror Group Phone hacking trial at the Rolls Building at High Court on June 06, 2023 in London
Prince Harry arriving in court on Tuesday, June 6, 2023.

Leon Neal/Getty Images

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