Prince Harry versus newspapers: This is the one that matters

Unless there's an unexpected plot twist, Prince Harry's legal battle against British tabloids for alleged unlawful privacy breaches will reach a crucial point on Tuesday. That's when his accusations against The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World will officially go to trial.

The so-called plot twist would involve him reaching a settlement with the parent company of these two newspapers, News Group Newspapers (NGN), part of Rupert Murdoch's media empire. However, this possibility is extremely slim, even less likely than Prince Harry and Meghan announcing a weekly lifestyle column for The Sun on Sunday.

This will be the first time that NGN has to defend itself against allegations that the entire organization's journalists and executives were involved in, or aware of, illegal news-gathering techniques. A loss, and a significant one at that, would see a court finding of corporate-level wrongdoing that would contrast sharply with the long-standing defense that phone hacking was limited to a few bad apples at one closed newspaper.

Prince Harry's accusations of tabloid misconduct date back to 1996. He and his brother, Prince William, first became aware they might be targets in 2006. At that time, text messaging was still in its infancy, everyone used voicemails, and some tabloid journalists realized how easy it was to hack into voicemails. Subsequently, News of the World journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire were arrested and jailed for intercepting the phone voicemails of royal aides.

Prince Harry stated that, as the scandal deepened, he had hoped NGN would resolve the royal family's claims through a "secret deal" to avoid embarrassment in court. However, NGN's lawyers called this "Alice in Wonderland," and the court has stated it has seen no evidence of any such backroom dealings. Over the years, the Duke of Sussex has appeared unwilling to give up this fight against tabloid journalism. Therefore, his case will proceed, and what happens in the next two months could determine the Prince's legacy and the future of the British press.

NGN has long apologized for the illegal actions of the News of the World and closed it down in 2011. But it denies similar accusations against The Sun, and the Duke’s broader claims of a company-wide cover-up. The company has settled with approximately 1,300 claimants for a total of around £1 billion, including legal fees. This means it has avoided potential trials from those who claim that stories published by the newspapers could only have been written through the acquisition of private or confidential information that should not have been made public.

These settlements have left only two claimants, one of whom is Prince Harry. When he launched his claim, he alleged that over 200 articles published by NGN between 1996 and 2011 contained information gathered through unlawful means. This trial will examine a sample of approximately 30 stories in detail. Some of these will cover ground he has already covered in his successful 2023 case against the Mirror Group, and, as in that case, he will give evidence in person.

The court will spend considerable time analyzing how The Sun obtained exclusives such as "Emotional Harry phones Chelsy at midnight," a story from about a decade ago concerning his then-girlfriend, Chelsy Davy. The second claimant, former Labour MP Lord Tom Watson, will also bring further separate accusations. He says his phone was targeted at the height of his investigations into the Murdoch newspaper scandal.

The judge, Mr. Justice Fancourt, will rule on whether any of the NGN articles were produced through illegal information gathering, such as information that was tricked or "blagged" from phone companies through private investigators. In Prince Harry’s case, he will not rule on whether there was any phone hacking, because Prince Harry is outside of the legal time limit for bringing those accusations to trial. The judge has repeatedly expressed his frustration that both sides are entrenched, well-resourced armies who refuse to give any ground to the other. Despite the huge financial losses Harry faces for not settling, he has never shown any willingness to do so.

If claimants refuse settlement offers and are later awarded less in damages by a judge, they must pay both sides' legal costs. Prince Harry has been very frank about the losses he will incur and why he is pushing ahead. "The goal is accountability. It's that simple," he told an audience at a New York Times event in December. NGN, in short, has three lines of defense. Firstly, it will argue that Prince Harry is out of time to bring his claims of illegal information gathering. This has resulted in his phone hacking claim being dismissed.

Secondly, its lawyers will test the Duke’s claims, one by one, that information in the articles came from improper sources. Thirdly, NGN has lined up witnesses to rebut Prince Harry and Lord Watson’s broader claims that those at the top knew what was happening and were involved in a mass destruction of records in 2011 that allegedly contained evidence of criminal activity. While the celebrity focus will inevitably be on the Prince when he enters the witness box, this third accusation of a cover-up is the most significant part of this trial.

While Prince Harry's financial losses will be huge, the reputational damage to NGN and its executives will be even greater if the court finds that they were involved. Executives who claimants will accuse of wrongdoing include current CEO Rebekah Brooks. She was acquitted in a sensational 2014 trial that ultimately saw her former colleague, ex-News of the World editor and David Cameron’s communications chief, Andy Coulson, jailed. Another is Will Lewis. He played a key role in managing the hacking crisis in 2011. He is now CEO of the Washington Post, an appointment that has been opposed by many at the paper because of his connection to it.

They and others deny wrongdoing. Will they provide evidence? A spokesperson for NGN said: "Both claimants have alleged that News International unlawfully destroyed emails in 2010-2011. This allegation is false, without merit, and is strongly denied. NGN will call a number of witnesses, including technical experts, lawyers, and senior staff, to refute this allegation." What evidence Prince Harry produces to prove this accusation, and how NGN defends itself, could decide the entire battle. Tuesday really is the beginning of the end. Someone will lose, and lose badly.