Prince Harry launched a fierce attack on the "despicable" press on Tuesday, blaming tabloid newspapers for ruining his teenage years and subsequent relationships as he provided nearly five hours of evidence in his lawsuit against a tabloid publisher. Harry became the first senior member of the British royal family to appear as a witness in over a century. The prince, fifth in line to the British throne, said the idea of people illegally intruding into the private life of his late mother, Princess Diana, made him "physically ill."
Harry, along with 100 other individuals, is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, in the High Court in London, over allegations of unlawful information gathering between 1991 and 2011. The youngest son of King Charles stated in a 50-page memo and hours of questioning by MGN's lawyer Andrew Green that he had been targeted since 1996 when he was a schoolboy. He said, "I faced hostility from the press since my birth."
Harry added that the press attempted to destroy his relationships with his girlfriends, holding it responsible for his split from Chelsy Davy, the shrinking of his circle of friends, and episodes of depression and paranoia. The trial against Mirror Group started last month and is expected to last seven weeks.
