Prince Harry Makes Surprise Visit to the U.K. — Find Out Why
The 'Spare' author appeared to be in good spirits.
Prince Harry made a surprise visit to the U.K. without his wife Meghan Markle in support of a lawsuit against a newspaper publisher.
The Duke of Sussex appeared to be in good spirits when he arrived at the U.K. High Court in London on Monday, March 27, 2023.
Harry joined forces with other celebrities, including close friend Elton John, model and actress Elizabeth Hurley and actress and producer Sadie Frost, in a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, Ltd., publisher of The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and The Mail Online.
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The plaintiffs allege that Associated Newspapers hired private investigators to use illegal means to invade their privacy. The methods allegedly include recording private calls, putting listening devices in their homes and vehicles, bribing corrupt law enforcement officers for information and impersonating and deceiving others to obtain medical records, CNN reported.
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Associated Newspapers denied the allegations, calling the claims "preposterous smears," as well as "unsubstantiated and defamatory." The company also alleged in their response to Harry's claims "pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal."
The lawsuit against Associated Newspapers is concurrent with another lawsuit Harry filed against publishers of The Sun and The Mirror. In October 2019, Harry filed a suit against The Sun's parent company, News Group Newspapers, and that of The Sun, Reach PLC, for allegedly hacking his phone. His case against Reach PLC is due for trial in May 2023.
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Harry also has yet another lawsuit against Associated Newspapers for defamation over The Mail on Sunday's reporting about his security arrangements when visiting the U.K. following his and Meghan's resignation as senior royals and moving to Montecito, California.
The Sussexes have tussled in court previously with Associated Newspapers, and for Harry, much of it is personal.
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In January 2022, it was revealed that the publisher would only pay ￡1 in damages to Markle, who sued them for copyright infringement for printing portions of a handwritten letter she penned to her father, Thomas Markle, in The Mail on Sunday and Mail Online. However, the publisher was also expected to reimburse Markle for her legal fees and costs, which some estimates have at as much as ￡1 million.
Harry previously alleged that the stress from the copyright lawsuit led to Markle's miscarriage in the summer of 2020, which she detailed in a New York Times op-ed that November.
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“I believe my wife suffered a miscarriage because of what the Mail did. I watched the whole thing," Harry said in the final installment of the Sussexes' Harry & Meghan Netflix series. "Now, do we absolutely know that the miscarriage was caused by that? Of course we don't. But bearing in mind the stress that that caused, the lack of sleep, and the timing of the pregnancy, how many weeks in she was, I can say, from what I saw, that miscarriage was created by what they were trying to do to her.”
Next, take a tour of where Prince Harry and Meghan Markle had their first date.