Prince Harry arrived at court to testify against the Mirror Group Newspapers

Here are some photos of Prince Harry arriving at court today, where he will testify against the Mirror Group Newspapers. Harry wasn’t in court yesterday, and MGN’s lawyer threw a tantrum about it in court, because (I believe) the British media had convinced themselves that Harry was going to appear and every outlet had sent photographers and videographers to stake out the court. But from what I can see, Harry’s first day in court was always supposed to be today, the 6th. Anyway, these photos go hard – there was a carnival atmosphere with all of the photographers and media outlets vying to get their shots of Harry. Several outlets set up live streams, like it was the arrival of a king. Don’t tell me Harry-arriving-at-court outsold the coronation?

This will be the first time a British prince/royal has testified in court in more than a hundred years. Harry will testify about how the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror hacked into his phone messages, stalked his girlfriends, paid off his friends and made his life a living hell since he was a child. As you can imagine, the Windsors are backing their friends, the British tabloid media.

Prince Harry’s fresh courtroom drama is bound to broaden the gulf between him and King Charles and Prince William, palace sources told Page Six. The renegade prince has flown to London to take the stand in the Daily Mirror hacking case — making him the first royal ever to give evidence in the witness box.

Asked what his estranged family must make of Harry’s participation in the case, one highly placed palace source said: “I can’t imagine anyone is pleased,” adding they will be “privately bracing themselves.”

Another royal insider said: “Harry would see himself as fighting their battle too, to protect the reputation of the monarchy. But certainly, they [the royal family] avoid confrontation with the media in most instances. And litigation is so lengthy. stressful and unpredictable, not to mention expensive. You just have no idea what direction the other side is going to go in on, and what they will dredge up.”

Lawyer Andrew Green KC, representing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), has already told the court that many of the stories published about Harry “came from information disclosed by or on behalf of royal households or members of the royal family.”

“There’s a damn good reason why the royal family should feel uncomfortable about this,” added the royal insider.

Noted writer and historian Hugo Vickers pointed out that unlike in his interviews with friends like Oprah Winfrey and Tom Bradby, Harry will have to answer any and all questions while under oath.

“It turns it into another circus,” Vickers told Page Six. “He’s got time to come over [to England] and cause trouble, but he doesn’t have time to see his family and try to sort out any of the big issues. He’s also subjecting himself to the possibility of an aggressive council to ask him a lot of disagreeable questions he is obliged to answer, putting himself on the line.”

[From Page Six]

LMAO to all of this – the suggestion that the morally bankrupt Windsors don’t want to sue the tabloids because it’s too expensive… as opposed to the Windsors seeing the tabloids as their partners and part of their communications. It will also be interesting to see how often the Mirror Group throws the Windsors under the bus as they could claim that their info comes from palace briefings and not hacking, which of course is why the Windsors are so “concerned” – their tabloid partners have zero loyalty. And this: “He’s got time to come over [to England] and cause trouble, but he doesn’t have time to see his family and try to sort out any of the big issues” – Charles literally fled the country specifically to avoid Harry.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red, Backgrid.

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85 Responses to “Prince Harry arrived at court to testify against the Mirror Group Newspapers”

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  1. JanetDR says:

    Go Harry Go! 💗🙏🏻💗

    • PrincessOfWaffles says:

      Go Harry!!!

    • AlpineWitch says:

      Shallow note, he’s so handsome and very photogenic, of course photographers are queuing to take photos of him!

      Lol at the comment about his family when it’s his family who doesn’t want to interact with him. Imbeciles and spoiled scroungers, the whole lot #abolishthemonarchy

    • Moxylady says:

      That’s a flex. The spare shows up and the king flees the country.

    • Well Wisher says:

      Imagine the moral courage and fortitude to do what Prince Harry chose to do in this instance. He has established those boundaries necessary for him and his immediate family’s safety and protection.
      I wish him peace and hopes that he prevails ………..

      • Kathleen says:

        The other royals are scared spitless at the thought of taking on the media. Harry has spilled it all in Spare and fears no one. Going up against a man who is fearless is terrifying. #GoHarry

  2. Aimee says:

    I started reading his witness statement and it is truly horrible what he’s had to deal with. It’s one thing for the tabloids to make up stories about him but it’s quite another when they’re hacking his private phone calls and voice mails. And the Windsors put up with this, why!????

    • Tamra says:

      The tabloids have tons of dirt on the rf. The rf have fed them stories about other royals(Diana, Fergie, Harry, Meghan) to keep the main player’s secrets.

    • The Hench says:

      They don’t just put up with it – they are the source of many of those stories. That’s why the RF is nervous – because the paper will drop their leaking and smearing like a large steaming turd right in the middle of the courtroom in order to defend themselves against getting stories illegally.

      • Nanea says:

        Keeping my fingers crossed that we will finally get names instead of senior staff, royal aide, friend of.

        Hoping we get sums too, just to see how many pieces of silver Bulliam Judas received for selling out H&M in exchange for keeping his affairs (& extra kids?) out of the papers.

      • BothSidesNow says:

        @ Nanea, I too want names, dates, money exchanged and the details given with each transaction. IF the Mirror is going to throw the BRF, or their employees under the bus, I want names damn it!!

  3. equality says:

    They are ignoring the fact that the tabloids settled with Will instead of fighting it out in court. Most of the time the media does settle with the royals before it comes to open court.

    • Jais says:

      Yes, and you can’t get a settlement without first complaining about a wrong being done. So it does not go along with idea that the RF is adhering to their usual never complain never explain relationship with the media.

    • Mary Pester says:

      @equality, exactly this! Wonder if Harry’s solicitor will bring that fact up, and hopefully ask the mirror rep, “if you are making your defence on the understanding that it was members of the Royal family or household that briefed you, will THEY be called as witnesses to Confirm your testimony, or are we just expected to believe the words of the press, that of to date, have proved completely unreliable. No wonder the trash Windsors are shaking in their shoes. I also want the solicitor to bring up the interviews given by the press in the programme “the Prince” a and the press, where they near enough admitted their wrong doing

    • Eurydice says:

      Yes, litigation is so lengthy, stressful and expensive…unless you can strike a secret settlement.

  4. Jais says:

    Go Harry!❤️

  5. Amy Bee says:

    Charles has fled the country and the Palace has sent out Kate on engagements today and tomorrow in an attempt to distract from the case.

  6. Cassie says:

    It’s actually so upsetting I am in tears .

    Harry is a real soldier ,keep him safe for gods sake .

    • Justjan says:

      Same. He’s up against the biggest institutions of the world… the fourth estate ( in the US that means the press) and a subset of a worldwide cult (the church of E which in this case is headed by a soulless scurrying roach they call royalty). Many of these people make good churchmen and religionists but suck at following the way of Jesus.
      I add my prayer for his and his family’s safekeeping.

  7. Snuffles says:

    They should play the theme song to Shaft over his court arrival

    Who is the man that would risk his neck for his brother man?
    HAZ!
    Can you dig it?
    Who’s the cat that won’t cop out when there’s danger all about?
    HAZ!
    Right on
    They say this cat Haz is a bad mother
    (Shut your mouth)
    But I’m talkin’ ’bout Haz
    (Then we can dig it)
    He’s a complicated man
    But no one understands him but his woman
    Prince Haz!

    • Lili says:

      i love that, i had the tune in my head as i was reading it Love It. Go Haz !

    • Interested Gawker says:

      🎷🎺🎻🎻🎸
      😂😂😂brilliant!

    • Nlopez says:

      Love it SNUFFLES! Harry is a bad mf shut yo mouf! ❤️

      • CheChe says:

        Thanks for that light moment. I’d rather laugh than cry over the absurdity of the British media and their royal partners.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      Brilliant Snuffles!!!! You are the Q!!!

    • Blithe says:

      👏🏽

      And thank you, Snuffles, for today’s earworm! Lol

    • Princessk says:

      Bravo! 👏🏾
      Someone should set that to a cartoon!

    • Christine says:

      LMAO!!! This is perfection!

    • Debbie says:

      @Snuffles: That’s very clever of you (and Isaac Hayes!). Just the simple switch of “Haz!” instead of “Shaft” alone is perfection. Good on you.

    • Christine says:

      Snuffles, I’m still laughing at this. Insert the drunk Mulder version from X-Files, with Haz instead of Shaft, and I can’t. My son keeps asking why I’m laughing, and I have no way to explain it to a 13 year old.

  8. Brit says:

    The BM and the Royals are scared of Harry because he’s been deprogrammed and they have nothing to hold over him. Harry is a soldier and it seems they have forgotten it. Going after Meghan was the worst mistake they could’ve done and now I firmly believe it was intentional to get him to drop the case and to hurt him by hurting her. This was about punishment and intimidation. Meghan really has been an unnecessary casualty in this war and I’m glad she has peace now.

  9. Izzy says:

    “There’s a damn good reason why the royal family should feel uncomfortable about this,” added the royal insider.

    Finally, someone inside the viper’s nest said the quiet part out loud.

  10. Becks1 says:

    So last time Harry was in the UK for court, Charles was “too busy” to see him even though his France trip had been canceled. This time Charles is in Transylvania. So who is hiding from who here??

    And yes, the royals are extremely nervous and they should be. the newspapers got their leaks from somewhere. If it wasnt illegal, then it was someone in the royal household selling out Harry. And they’re worried its all going to come out.

    • equality says:

      Is he hiding from PH or fleeing the country until he sees what comes out in the case? Maybe he’s hiding from the media and public.

    • BothSidesNow says:

      KFC the coward, is hiding from both!! And why does he need a vacation?? He hasn’t been king long enough for a vacation, my gawd!!

      I lovingly reminded that wanker Hu-Gonna-Lie Vickers of these exact facts!!! How convenient for KFC to be out of the country again whilst Harry is in the UK!!! Relationships are a two way street, one way is Charles’s way and the only way, in his mind.

  11. ThatsNotOkay says:

    GMAB. They’re not worried that Harry might make himself vulnerable to scrutiny upon cross, they’re worried he might expose them, the RF, and the Invisible Contract.

    Harry is a grown man who’s worked hard on his mental health. No need to infantilze him or pretend your whining about his well-being is out of concern for him as opposed to concern for your wallet.

    • The Old Chick says:

      Infantilising Harry is their only play these days. Harry’s damaged, they’re worried about him, he’s too emotional, he can’t cope bs. It’s a huge fat eye roll.

  12. Loretta says:

    Go Harry! He’s a such brave man

  13. Beverley says:

    Good luck, Harry!

  14. The Hench says:

    Don’t know if this will get posted but here is the link to Harry’s full, written, witness statement. Unsurprisingly the British papers are spinning their versions of it rather than showing the whole thing. This came from the NY Times.

    https://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2023/06/06/world/europe/prince-harry-mirror-statement.html

  15. Noor says:

    Noted writer and historian Hugo Vickers stated that Prince Harry, “He’s got time to come over [to England] and cause trouble, but he doesn’t have time to see his family and try to sort out any of the big issues”

    Is Hugo a tabloid journalist or a historian? Such is the media climate in UK that a qualified historian can dare to say this knowing he will get away with it and not held accountable.

    • Tessa says:

      His family is in California. Charles made it clear how he feels when he evicted harry Meghan and the children from frogmore. Charles should have been the star of the movie bad granddad

    • Rapunzel says:

      Cause trouble? Harry ain’t causing trouble for anyone but the criminal press. Those troublemakers deserve it.

      See his family and sort out the big issues? His family doesn’t want to see him! And the big issues are their jealousy, poor anger management, racism, classism, and misogyny. Harry can’t sort that sh*t out for them.

    • BQM says:

      Hugo is an actual serious historian with decades of experience and a LOT of connections. We’re friends on social media but do not discuss the topic of the Sussexes. He’s very smart, very witty, very well read but he has a huge monarchist blind spot here imo.

  16. First comment says:

    No matter what the outcome of this lawsuit, I firmly believe that the majority of public opinion is convinced of the unlawful activities and manipulations of the tabloids! Look at the coverage this trial is getting! I have a feeling that the interest of this definitely surpasses the coronation!! And everyone knows that Harry is doing this, not for the money (as his incandescent brother did) but for vindication! That’s why he’s relaxed (he even made a little joke during his deposition. There no hard questions for him. He’s telling the truth and he’s not afraid!

    • Mary Pester says:

      @FIRSTCOMMENT, I don’t have a twitter account, but by God if I did, I would be putting up “William has a price tag, HARRY has a spine

      • BothSidesNow says:

        That’s a brilliant conveyance of the two!!!

      • Laura D says:

        Prince William took the money
        Prince Harry took the stand!

        Not mine I’m afraid but, from a Twitter post. The bots definitely aren’t winning the Twitter war.

      • Doppelgangers R'Us says:

        @MARYPESTER
        @LAURA D
        I don’t Twitter either, but I think this together says it all.

        Prince William took the money
        Prince Harry took the stand!
        William has a price tag,
        HARRY has a spine!
        👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻

      • Aurelia says:

        Umm, Willie donated the $165,0000 to Travelyst. It was listed in their last tax filings.

      • BQM says:

        @aurelia no he didn’t. That was floated on Twitter and quickly and easily disproven. Info is available from the royal foundation’s own website as well as other public records. The money given was Harry’s share of the endeavor fund that was given to him when they separated.

    • tamsin says:

      Prince William took the money
      Prince Harry took the stand!

      That says it all. Brilliant.

  17. TheWigletOfWails says:

    Go Harry, Go! Get all of them, the tabloids, Piers Morgan, and that rotten institution called the BaRF. Expose them all!

  18. Emme says:

    Hmmmm…….huge police presence there I see. But the police can’t possibly provide Harry with personal protection eh? Hypocrisy or what?

  19. Waitwhat says:

    I agree that it’s unlikely anyone would be very surprised about the lengths that the tabloids would go to for a story (whether it’s hacking phones and voicemails, bribery and/or blackmail, entrapment, catch-and-kill, stalking, staking out homes, etc etc). If anything, the worst of it was revealed when the News of the World collapsed in 2011 – that was the original phone hacking scandal and the most shocking element of that wasn’t that they’d hacked celebrities or the RF, but that they’d messed with the voicemails of a murdered schoolgirl after her death, so that her family believed for a while that she was still alive. The newspaper collapsed, and people went to jail.

    The other thing to remember (particularly if you’re not from the UK) is that there’s a significant proportion of the public that *loathes* the tabloids, especially The Sun because of its coverage of the Hillsborough disaster (in which it blamed Liverpool FC fans for a crush that killed 97). The Daily Mail is frequently reviled as a right-wing mouthpiece for the government and various other swivel-eyed loons. In many ways, the reason the tabloids are so disgusting is not because of their treatment of celebrities (terrible though that is) but because they apply the same tactics to their coverage of ordinary citizens, often at the lowest points in their lives.

    However… the Daily Mail and The Sun are the two best-selling papers in the UK. The people who read them don’t necessarily believe that they’re paragons of the fourth estate (they may not even believe the stories they read) but they read them and agree with them – or maybe they read them *because* they agree with them.

    On a different note, The Guardian is providing a live stream of Harry’s testimony. It’s interesting to read it compared to the witness statement some people have linked to already; I’m not sure what commenters here will make of it but it is essentially just dictation, with only a little commentary.

    • Julie says:

      Agree on all your take. This trial whilst of enormous personal importance to harry will not change how people perceive the newspapers in question. Everyone in the UK will tell you they are rags but will still read them and as you said will believe them if they are so inclined.
      i’m also following the guardian live coverage and so far there seems to be no smoking gun in Harry’s favour at the moment sadly.

      • Saucy&Sassy says:

        Julie, I don’t think there is a smoking gun. I’ve read Harry’s witness statement and read the live testimony on the Guardians website. Harry makes a good case about the media having information that shouldn’t have. When opposing counsel points out that the info was first written a day or two earlier in one of the other tabloids and asks Harry if the info wasn’t already published, Harry says there are additional detail in the Mirror articles. When asked if the article was simply written from the other tabloids info, Harry says that he’d have to ask the journalists.

        Harry sounds composed and isn’t thrown for a loop with anything. He had copies of all of the invoices from PIs just before these stories came out. I think the Mirror is going to find it tough going. Especially since the only witness statements from the journalists they decided to get all said they don’t remember.

      • Polo says:

        There doesn’t need to be a smoking gun. He just needs to prove that in atleast one of the articles there was illegal information gathering/phone hacking and I think he already did that with one of the articles about his flight details. The journalists are also not there to counter anything he is saying. I am hoping all the claimants will win.

    • Eurydice says:

      If the Daily Mail and The Sun didn’t exist, some other newspapers would be the best-sellers. People read what exists.

  20. Bad Janet says:

    I believe Diana would be so proud of Harry for not taking any $#!+ from the tabloids, or the RF, lying down, after what they did to her.

    The RF doesn’t even get that Harry is ultimately doing all of them a favor, especially the youngest royals, which is the wildest part of all of this. The RF can continue their symbiotic, parasitic relationship with the ROTA without allowing them to hack their phones, stalk them, and harass their acquaintances. But leave it to them to be too stupid to realize it. It’s a shame that the only one with at least half a brain couldn’t take their short-sighted idiocy anymore and fled.

    • JT says:

      They don’t don’t think Harry is doing them a favor because the royals need the tabloids. There is no way they could withstand the scrutiny of an honest and truthful press or real journalists. They cannot handle people seeing them for who they are and what they really do behind closed doors. The royals are nothing but grifters and liars. The palace is one of the reasons why the British press is trash because they are active contributors to the madness and they benefit from the lies. They cannot survive with true transparency. Harry suing the tabloids will absolutely make things harder for them, they know it, and they deserve it.

  21. Nicegirl says:

    Loving supportive vibes your way ♾️ H 💕 💪

  22. Over it says:

    Ginger avenger looks hot. I hope it’s another Dior.Get them all Haz, get them all.

  23. Eve Pane says:

    Why do they treat this guy like he kicked a puppy? He loves his daughter and wanted to be there for her birthday.
    Call the police.
    It’s not like he was across the street from the court, drinking Starbucks,and decided not to go.

  24. aquarius64 says:

    No matter how the trial ends Harry comes out the winner, being strong to at and up to these vampires. As for the BRF, siding with the rags signals the Wondsors have a LOT to hide and a foreign enemy of the UK knows the royal house can be blackmailed. That makes the Windsors national security risks IMO.

  25. hangonamin says:

    actually i think the judge had asked harry to be ready to testify in court on the first day of the case, according to AP and Reuters. So I think the judge was surprised he wasn’t there and obvi the defense is gonna throw lots of shade? I don’t think it’s that egregiously bad bc he’s there to testify now so i don’t get all the crazy reporting…but I don’t have a law background so not sure if this is very abnormal.

  26. ArtFossil says:

    According to @SaraHajibagheri, who has been live tweeting Harry’s testimony, “Questioning of Prince Harry has finished for the day. Judge says Green has “maximum another half a day” of cross examination.”

  27. Eowyn says:

    How anyone, no matter how well-resourced functions after this amount of psychological abuse and gaslighting, is beyond me. It’s impressive.
    The statement document-it’s really something.

  28. PunkPrincessPhD says:

    Reading Harry’s witness statement makes clear his intent with *Spare*: so many of the anecdotes that seemed a bit random in the book are referenced among the selected articles. This was absolutely strategic.

  29. Dee says:

    Sky News has an actor portraying Harry, reading aloud the transcript. It’s the most ridiculous thing I’ve seen in a long time.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Dee, that’s the purpose of Sky News doing this–so that it sounds ridiculous. Go to the Guardian’s website and read the live feed they transcribed. It’s not ridiculous at all.

  30. j.ferber says:

    Harry is doing the right thing. Wishing you victory, Harry. And much respect to you, the bravest and best.

  31. bisynaptic says:

    Go, Harry!