Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

It was certainly a dramatic end to Prince Harry's evidence, on a day when there was a buzz in this sprawling building.

I'm now taking a breather in the hallway, where Prince Harry earlier strolled past me, calmly, no sign of the emotion that overcame him towards the end of his evidence session.

So, what next?

Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL)'s lawyer Antony White KC has thrown some curveballs in this trial. Yesterday, he finished his opening argument in under two hours, meaning Prince Harry had to move his appearance forward a day.

There's been a lot of contention, even frustration from the judge already about the schedule.

And while the prince's day in court has ended, there's still a long way to go in this trial.

We are in week one of nine, and we are yet to hear from more of the famous faces who joined Harry in bringing this lawsuit against ANL, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

Wednesday saw the start and end of Prince Harry's evidence in this trial, where he is one of seven high-profile claimants accusing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) - publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday - of unlawfully gathering information relating to their private lives. A claim the publisher denies.

Here's a reminder of what we heard in today's session:

• Harry told the court about the impact the alleged intrusion has had on his personal life. "I always suspected those close to me, including my friends and bodyguards, of being the sources of that private information," he wrote in his witness statement
• He was interrupted a couple of times by the judge, who told Harry that as a claimant he didn't need to argue his case and answering the questions was enough. But Harry said he felt compelled to give as much context as possible, so the judge could "have an idea of what it is like living in this world"
• Harry told Antony White KC, the lawyer for ANL, his past relationships - and personal life - were not in the public interest (there's more on what that means here)
• How the publisher and wider press covered stories relating to his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex was another concern for Harry. Visibly emotional while answering questions from his own barrister David Sherborne, Harry said: "They continue to come after me, they have made my wife's life an absolute misery"
• Day three of the the trial is over but the civil case - which does not have a jury and will instead be decided by the judge - is due to sit for a total of nine weeks. Yesterday, ANL's lawyers accused claimants of "clutching at straws".

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent

After his appearance in the witness box, Prince Harry said: “Today we reminded the Mail group who is on trial and why.”

Both sides are likely to claim that they are ahead on points - and there were no knock-out blows on either side.

But Team Sussex said after Harry's evidence: “Today’s cross-examination was revealing in its weakness: assertive in tone, but collapsing immediately under scrutiny from Prince Harry.

“Associated couldn’t wait to get him off the stand, questioning him for just two hours and avoiding 10 of his 14 articles entirely.”

Throughout today's proceedings, we heard Prince Harry and Antony White KC expressing their views on whether disputed content published about the duke was "of public interest" - with Harry arguing a lot of it was not.

According to BBC editorial guidelines, there is "no single definition of public interest" and the term "covers a wide range of values and principles relating to what is in the best interests of society".

In UK media law, public interest can be used as a defence for publishing classified or protected information, or a story which would otherwise be considered defamatory.

An example of its use would be to protect a whistle-blower who might otherwise be breaking agreements or laws in disclosing sensitive information. But the public interest can also include freedom of expression, information that assists people to better understand matters of public importance, preventing people being misled by individuals or organisations, and exposing crime, corruption or negligence.

Whether the coverage of the personal lives of public figures, such as the Royal Family, can be covered by that justification is often a finely balanced call for publishers, and ultimately for judges and juries if a case comes before them.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent

“They’ve made my wife’s life an absolute misery,” said Prince Harry, his voice cracking.

These could be his last ever words in a UK courtroom - and it was a reminder how much his family has been part of this battle.

He has been very protective of his wife Meghan and their children, and claims about press intrusion into his relationship with Meghan were very much part of their acrimonious departure from the UK, when they moved to the US in 2020.

In terms of his family, Harry’s attacks on the misbehaviour of the press go right back to the harassment of his mother Diana, which has always seemed to be a deeply-felt motivation in his long, long struggle with the press.

We're starting to see images of Prince Harry leaving court a short while ago:

Image source, Reuters

Image source, Reuters

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

Prince Harry concluded his evidence with an emotional response to a question from his lawyer David Sherborne.

His lip wobbled as he looked at the judge and told him how hard this has been for his wife Meghan, accusing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) of having "made my wife's life an absolute misery".

He choked on the words. After that, he finished giving evidence and left the courtroom.

It was a softer side to the duke, who throughout the day seemed frustrated as he argued his case against the defence lawyer - with the judge interrupting multiple times.

Of course, in his claims, he is alleging very personal and private information has been stolen from him. And it's the second time he's had to take the stand, very publicly, and discuss personal matters including past relationships.

Sean Coughlan
Royal correspondent

Prince Harry was clearly very emotional as he railed at the way his private life has been “commercialised” by the media.

He says it’s “disgusting” the idea that he shouldn’t be entitled to a private life.

And he says this court battle has been another “horrible experience” for himself and his family.

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

Through the course of this litigation, Prince Harry says "it's only got worse, not better" for him in his life.

He says all he and the claimants want is an apology and accountability, and it's awful that he is being made to give evidence and bring it all up again.

The worst part of sitting up there in the witness box, he says, is that ANL have "made my wife's life an absolute misery".

He gets visibly emotional delivering the final sentence, his voice breaking.

That marks the end of Prince Harry's evidence. He bows and leaves the court.

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

Prince Harry now tells the court that he feels "not great" hearing these stories again, and describes it as a "recurring traumatic experience".

"I've never believed that my life is open season to be commercialised by these people."

Again he says his life is not a matter of the public interest, and becomes passionate in his speaking.

He continues: "Having my life, like others, commercialised in this way since I was a teenager, delving into every single aspect of my private life, listening into calls, blagging flights, so that they could find out where I'm going. It was a time then when everybody was in competition with each other.

"To sit here and go through this all over again and have them give their own defence and claim that I don't have any right to any privacy is disgusting."

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

We're hearing now from Prince Harry's lawyer, David Sherborne. He references when the duke was earlier questioned on his social circle by Antony White KC.

He quotes Prince Harry, who said earlier he wouldn't discuss things from the articles openly. He's asked to elaborate on the meaning of this.

"That kind of information is the kind of stuff that one would share one on one. Phone calls, voicemails, etc," he says.

Sherborne moves on to the topic of journalist Rebecca English, who the defence earlier suggested was close to Prince Harry. White earlier said Prince Harry would share private information with her off the record.

That's not true, Prince Harry says now.

We now move to Barbara Jones. Earlier, Prince Harry agreed she knew how to "work people well".

Sherborne asks him to expand on how he thinks she would get information.

"Blagging, and pretending to be someone else to get access to places she probably shouldn't," he tells court.

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

Antony White KC is now questioning Prince Harry's evidence about the Levenson Inquiry, which was conducted to look into press standards after the News of the World hacking scandal, from 2011-2012.

He is questioning how much Prince Harry followed it, to which the duke tells the court "it wasn't part of my world".

In his evidence, it says he believed the sworn testimonies from ANL executives when they denied phone hacking. There's more on that in our last post.

White, for the defence, concludes his questions to Prince Harry there. We'll now hear from Harry's own lawyer, David Sherborne.

Tom Symonds
Reporting from the High Court

Prince Harry's written witness statement attacks the Mail newspapers and its journalists personally for threatening his personal security and making his early relationships impossible.

He describes one Daily Mail article, "Let Her Rest In Peace" from July 2006 as "really disgusting" with a "crude headline" and "explicit reference" to a phone call between him and the Duke of Cambridge.

The reporter, Rebecca English, is now the Daily Mail's Royal Editor.

Prince Harry says "I remember Rebecca English as a young journalist at the time, trying to make a name and career for herself through the use of my private life, without shame".

Prince Harry's claim focuses on stories between 2001 and 2013, a period during which he had several girlfriends, including Chelsy Davy.

His statement claims The Daily Mail was first to disclose her name and "from that point onward everything blew up and her life as she knew it was over; her ability to enjoy some semblance of privacy evaporated instantly".

He says he took action against Associated Newspapers because the publisher previously claimed phone hacking had not happened at its newspapers. This statement was made at the Leveson Inquiry into press standards in 2012 by the Mail editor Paul Dacre.

Prince Harry says: "They had me so convinced that I didn’t even think twice about it, nor did I dare question Paul Dacre out of fear of retaliation. The advantage they had was that their approach appeared more belligerent than the rest; 'if you dare take us on, we will destroy your life' kind of approach.

"I don’t think it left anyone with any other option other than to believe Associated and accept they must be telling the truth."

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

Antony White KC suggests that if Prince Harry wanted to ask questions about suspected hacking on his devices, law firm Harbottle & Lewis would've been available to him.

This is the firm that initially advised the Royal Family on hacking claims against News of the World.

Harry rebuts, and says it would have been up to them what they share, and he wasn't the one paying their fees, that was the institution. They never came to him with what they knew, he says.

Prince Harry says that if he was concerned about hacking claims by ANL prior to 2020, which is when he said he learned of it, he would've used the moment when his wife Meghan Markle was in litigation with them.

This was regarding the publication by the Daily Mail of a letter she wrote to her father.

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

White turns now to Prince Harry's witness statement, which says he became aware in 2005 that some phones of the Royal Family's staff had been hacked by News Group Newspapers.

He writes that aside from one instance, where he learned of Prince William's voicemail being accessed, he thought the rest was confined to staff members.

This is key because a large part of ANL's defence is that the time has run out for the claimants' case.

The timeline set out by the claimants suggests the earliest they could have known about suspected hacking was 2016.

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

We're back after a lunch break, with judge Mr Justice Nicklin in his seat. And Antony White KC, for Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), gets straight to it.

He brings up a picture of Prince Harry at Badminton Horse Trials in 2003 of him with a woman leaning on his shoulder. It was published in The Sun newspaper.

Prince Harry corrects White, saying the woman is merely tilting her head, not leaning on him.

White says this picture was "bound" to illicit tip-offs to the press about who the woman was.

Prince Harry says it would equally garner interest from the tabloids.

White puts it to Harry that he's been in a number of relationships, which the prince agrees with - but argues none are in the public interest.

While we wait for court to resume, we've been continuing to look through the Duke of Sussex's witness statement, which was published as he started giving evidence at the High Court

One example Prince Harry gives of information which he claims could only have come from unlawful information gathering is an article from 2006, about his and Prince William's reactions to the publication of a photo of Princess Diana after her fatal car crash by the Italian media.

Harry says he does not recall reading the Daily Mail article at the time, but found the piece "disgusting" and made him consider: "If Associated was willing to publish this type of material, then it really makes me wonder how far they are prepared to go."

He adds that the information in the article suggested they "were plainly listening in to our calls".

Associated Newspapers Limited has denied allegations of unlawful information gathering. The publisher argues that the case has been brought too late, and strongly defends its journalists in the face of the accusations.

Image source, Julia Quenzler

Prince Harry's much-anticipated court appearance has been the main event of today's proceedings in the civil case brought forward by celebrities against the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday's publisher.

Harry's witness statement was made public around the same time as he answered questions from the defence barrister, Antony White KC.

White asked Harry why he didn't complain about some of the articles at the heart of his claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ALN). Harry said that "to a certain extent" he believed the information in the articles came from legitimate sources, and "the institution" he was a part of (the Royal Family) meant he wouldn't have been able to complain anyway.

In his witness statement, Harry also pointed out the near constant paranoia he experienced, fearing those closest to him were to blame for the "private information" making its way to headlines.

"I always suspected those close to me, including my friends and bodyguards, of being the sources of that private information," he writes.

But the judge had to interrupt Harry a couple of times, saying that at times he was arguing his own case rather than simply answering the questions put forward by lawyers in the defendant's team.

Proceedings are due to resume at 14:00 GMT.

Until then, we'll bring you a round-up of the key lines we've heard, as well as some snippets from Harry's witness statement.

Stay tuned.

Imogen James
Reporting from the High Court

We in court are now hearing about Barbara Jones, a foreign correspondent at the Mail on Sunday.

Prince Harry says she would "turn up in the most bizarre places", and he argues that however she knew he was in these place is "what's very suspicious".

"She turned up at places where no-one could possibly know where I was."

In his witness statement, the prince writes that Jones, and colleague Caroline Graham, would turn up to everything he had to do in Africa.

"They turned up everywhere. It felt like full blown stalking and constant surveillance," he says.

White says there were often packs of journalists at royal occasions, but Prince Harry says this was different, and speaks about an incident in Malawi in 2017 when Jones allegedly arrived across the river from him.

The ANL lawyer then says it's likely Jones turned up and made inquiries on the ground with local staff, but Harry says he believes she blagged a local ranger instead.