Prince Harry's court fight explodes as 'skeletons in closet' claims hits publisher

Prince Harry’s long-running war with the British press returned to the headlines on Monday in London.

The Duke of Sussex and a lineup of high profile figures took on the publisher of the Daily Mail in a High Court case that could send shockwaves through Fleet Street.

Leading the charge was barrister David Sherborne, who wasted no time dismantling what he described as Associated Newspapers Limited’s long-standing refusal to acknowledge wrongdoing. 

According to Sherborne, the publisher had maintained a posture of total innocence for years, even telling the Leveson Inquiry in 2012 that no improper methods had ever been used. The courtroom, he argued, would hear a very different story.

Sherborne told the judge that Harry and six other claimants including Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sadie Frost would demonstrate a pattern of covert practices stretching across two decades. 

He warned that any victory for the claimants would be devastating for the publisher, given its repeated insistence that nothing unlawful ever occurred.

One journalist, he said, provided dozens of exclusives to a royal correspondent during that period. 

Another strand focused on the alleged routine use of private investigators, including an agency known as ELI, despite its appearance on a restricted list within the company.

Sherborne also highlighted emails suggesting deceptive phone calls and the acquisition of sensitive travel and financial information.

Outside the courtroom, the cast was equally eye grabbing. Sadie Frost arrived to support her claims of intrusive reporting during her divorce, while Elizabeth Hurley attended alongside her son, Damian. 

Harry walking into a London courtroom isn’t just another royal appearance but it’s a showdown with a press system that’s long acted like rules don’t apply.