King Charles III's youngest son accused the British royal family of withholding information from him about wiretaps on British tabloids in a statement released Tuesday in a lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
On Tuesday, Prince Harry attended his second consecutive day of hearings at the High Court in London. Along with several celebrities, he filed a lawsuit against the Associated Newspaper (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail, accusing it of illegally gathering information. He also accuses the British royal family of withholding information from him about wiretaps conducted by the British tabloids.
In his testimony, signed Feb. 24 and released Tuesday, Harry speaks of his "difficult relationship with the press" after the death of his mother Diana, but explains that "for a member of the establishment, the policy was never to complain, never to explain." He says the royal family discouraged him from suing the press because "it would have opened a can of worms." "There is no doubt that the (royal) establishment has kept information about phone hacking from me for a long time, and it only became clear in recent years when I filed my own complaint."
Harry, who visits Britain only rarely, made a surprise visit to London to attend a hearing in which ANL is trying to win a lawsuit filed by the king's son as well as singer Elton John and actress Liz Hurley. The six plaintiffs accuse ANL of using detectives to tap their phones.