Prince Harry said alleged illegal information gathering by two UK newspapers made him "paranoid beyond belief". Singer Elton John said it left him feeling "violated". Their comments came as a joint lawsuit opened on Monday at the High Court, Agence France-Presse reported.
The case against Associated Newspapers
Prince Harry, Elton John, his husband David Furnish, and four other well-known figures are suing Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL). The company publishes The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. They accuse the papers of serious privacy breaches.
Harry travelled back to Britain to attend the opening hearing. This is the last pending case in his long legal battle against parts of the British press.
The claimants say the tabloids illegally hacked voicemails, listened to phone calls, and secretly collected private information between 1993 and 2018. They also allege ANL paid private investigators linked to earlier phone-hacking cases to gather such material, AFP reported.
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ANL has strongly denied all accusations. The publisher has described the claims as "lurid" and "preposterous".
Harry, Elton John outraged
In fresh court filings, Harry's lawyers listed 14 articles about him. They said these reports were based on repeated and hidden access to his private information. Harry said the stories put "massive strain" on his personal relationships, created distrust, and made him deeply paranoid and isolated.
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Statements from Elton John and David Furnish said they felt their home and their children's safety had been violated. They said they were outraged to learn that the publisher had accessed medical details around the birth of their son Zachary and obtained his birth certificate.
Counter arguments have come from ANL lawyer Antony White, who said that "editors, desk heads and journalists" are "lining up to reject the claimants' allegations of habitual and widespread phone hacking, phone tapping and blagging within the organisation".
