Prince Harry chokes up, testifies Daily Mail made Meghan's life 'misery'

Prince Harry is emotionally recalling the British tabloid the Daily Mail making his wife Duchess Meghan's life "an absolute misery."

The Duke of Sussex spoke as a witness in his privacy lawsuit against the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday's publisher, Associated Newspapers, as he and six others, including Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley, have accused the publisher of violating their privacy by bugging homes and using other illegal information-gathering tactics as early as the 1990s.

Discussing his fight against intrusion from the British press, Harry, 41, decried having to go through the trial. The lawsuit, among several Harry has levied against media outlets, was first filed in 2022.

"I think it is fundamentally wrong to have to put all of us through this again when all we were asking for is an apology and some accountability," he said. "It is a horrible experience, and the worst of it is that by sitting up here and taking a stand against them … they continue to come after me."

Harry added, choking up, "They have made my wife's life an absolute misery."

Prince Harry names Prince William and Kate Middleton

Prince Harry named 10 people in his witness statement, including his older brother, Prince William and his sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, according to People.

He also named his father, King Charles, and his former girlfriend, Chelsy Davy, as the 10 people he maintained "regular contact" with between about 1996 and at least 2014.

The brothers were very close at the time and maintained a high level of trust, Prince Harry emphasized in his witness statement, per People.

"Due to his position, the press have always been very interested in him," the statement read. "As brothers, we naturally discussed personal aspects of our lives as we trusted each other with the highly sensitive information we shared about our private, family and professional lives."

Prince Harry testimony addresses 'leaky' social circle

Harry has spoken at length about the British media's longtime impact on his family. He's cited media intrusion and racist coverage as a central reason he and Meghan left royal life and moved to the United States in 2020, and it is the reason he has not brought his family back to the United Kingdom since. The duke is currently in a fight to regain security for the couple and their young children, citing fears after being chased by paparazzi following a 2021 London charity event.

Meghan herself made an invasion of privacy claim against Associated Newspapers after the Mail on Sunday published extracts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father in 2018. In February 2021, Meghan won and received a symbolic 1 British pound, or around $1.24, for the victory.

Harry's lawsuit, which also includes John's husband David Furnish and actress Sadie Frost as claimants, accuses the publisher's papers of producing 14 articles using private detectives, recorded phone conversations, bugged homes and cars, and deceitfully obtained medical records. Associated Newspapers has strongly denied the allegations and says the information was legitimately obtained.

Associated's lawyer, Antony White, has argued that the publisher's journalists had ties to his "leaky" social circle. Harry, in a combative exchange, denied the claims. "For the avoidance of doubt, I am not friends with any of these journalists, and I never have been," Harry said. "My social circles were not leaky. I want to make that absolutely clear."

Harry's appearance as a witness is historic. It is the second time the prince has given evidence in a court, after an appearance in 2023, which made him the first royal in 130 years to do so.

Contributing: Reuters; Marco della Cava, USA TODAY