Follow the New York Post’s live updates as Prince Harry testifies for a second day in London’s High Court in his phone hacking case against Mirror Group Newspapers.
Prince Harry looked visibly emotional when asked about late TV star Caroline Flack on the stand Wednesday.
During his cross examination, the Duke of Sussex, 38, said he “very much” remembers a 2009 tabloid article about his night out with Flack, and noted that the “Gladiators” star is “no longer with us,” according to SkyNews.
Flack, 40, died by suicide in Feb. 2020. The former “Love Island” host was weeks away from standing trial for allegedly assaulting her boyfriend, Lewis Burton.
Television host Caroline Flack died by suicide in Feb. 2020. AFP via Getty Images
Harry said hidden photographers stalked him during the pair’s night out.
"They were hiding underneath a car,” he recalled.
"These photographers became known to me as there were numerous highly suspicious, and often dangerous, incidents involving them."
He added that he was convinced someone leaked the information, and even froze out his pal, Marko, who hosted the evening, due to his paranoia.
The California-based royal said he now believes information about the plan came from hacked voicemails.
Prince Harry was sharply reprimanded by defense counsel Andrew Green during his second day of testimony on Wednesday after he responded to an official inquiry with a question of his own.
"Are you suggesting that while I was in the army that everything was available for the press to write about?" Harry, 38, asked Green, who is representing Mirror Group Newspapers in the prince’s damages suit, according to SkyNews.
"Can I just repeat this isn't about you asking me questions, it's about me asking you questions," Green fired back.
A new court sketch has been released that shows Prince Harry being cross-examined. AP
Green had been questioning the flame-haired Duke of Sussex about a Sept. 2008 The People article that reported Harry was banned from returning to military service in Afghanistan due to security risks.
While the prince argued that the piece was an “obvious” invasion of his “private life,” Green insisted his military career was "a matter of legitimate public interest” and represented his “professional” life.
Prince Harry says he would feel "some injustice" if Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) emerges victorious in the phone-hacking case.
Green, representing MGN, notes that the duke has repeatedly referenced phone call data in his statements, however there is not a single call log between Harry's phone and any journalist from MGN.
"Do you think the absence of call data suggests you were not hacked by any MGN journalist?" Green asked the exiled royal.
To which Harry responded, "Absolutely not."
"If the court finds that you were not hacked by MGN would you be relieved or disappointed?" Green probed.
The royal then said the alleged phone-hacking was carried out on an "industrial scale," adding that if he loses this case, he would feel "some injustice."
"You want to have been phone hacked?" Green asked, to which Harry responded, "Nobody wants to be phone hacked."
Prince Harry says it was "hurtful" to stumble upon stories cheering about his break-up with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
The duke, who dated Davy on-off for several years after meeting in 2004, said headlines appeared to celebrate the news, rather than sympathize.
“Going through it again now -- ‘Hooray Harry is Dumped’ was hurtful to say the least, that such a private moment was turned into a bit of a laugh," the exiled royal said.
“The fact that the payments were referred to as Project Harry is incredibly disturbing.”
Harry said he did not speak to the Palace at any point about his relationship with Davy. Getty Images
“The level of surveillance that I was under was quite something,” he added.
Green, representing Mirror Group Newspapers, then asked, "You’re not suggesting that ‘Hooray Harry’ was a reference to celebrating that you were being dumped, are you?"
"Again, if it has been used before or not, for me, to be the subject or victim of this, to see the word used in this term is hurtful,” Harry told the court.
"The article quotes that [Chelsy] got tired of ‘his hooray lifestyle’ -- it’s not celebrating the demise of your relationship," Green told Harry.
Harry tells the court that he "never discussed" his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy with the Palace when probed on the 2007 article in People magazine about the pair's strained romance.
"Everything that is attributed to a Palace source I believe is obtained unlawfully because I never spoke to anyone about my relationship with my girlfriend because that was private," Harry said, according to the Independent.
"The suspicious part of it is attributing quotes to a Palace source that either doesn’t exist or certainly doesn’t have any information about me or my girlfriend."
Harry and Chelsy dated for several years after meeting in 2004. AFP via Getty Images
The Duke of Sussex then went on to suggest that the information used in the article was obtained unlawfully through phone hacking.
"So we are in the land of total speculation about whether this was voicemail interception," Green, representing Mirror Group Newspapers, asked the royal.
Harry has unleashed a fresh tirade over phone-hacking journalists -- suggesting the rewards outweigh the risks.
Whilst discussing two 2006 articles published in News of the World, the duke said the content was a direct result of voicemails being intercepted, according to The Guardian.
“There was very little to go on, it was unprecedented, I don’t think anyone, even the police, knew how to go about it,” Harry told the court about the police investigation into phone hacking around the Royal family in 2006.
Prince Harry arrives in court for day 2 of testimony in the phone hacking case Getty Images
But Green, who is representing Mirror Group Newspapers, challenged the exiled royal's viewpoint, saying, "Then you can assume that any journalist would be taking an enormous risk in hacking you or your brother’s phones after the convictions."
Harry responded, "I think there was risk right from the beginning. I believe the risk is worth the reward for them."
Lawyer Andrew Green KC, who represents Mirror Group Newspapers, has begun cross-examining Prince Harry, calling him on an earlier statement regarding in which the royal said news stories are not in the "public interest."
But Green said the excerpts mentioned in Harry's protocol-shattering memoir "Spare," such as his confessing about taking drugs and divulging on his time in the military, could be seen as "public interest."
The father-of-two disagreed before Green asked him, "What constitutes a public interest story?"
"I’m not entirely sure, other than speculating," Harry replied, according to The Telegraph. "A life-threatening injury. I’m sure there are others.”
Prince Harry has returned to a London court Wednesday for another day of testimony in his lawsuit against the UK’s Daily Mirror.
The Duke of Sussex appeared to be in good spirits as he entered the high court, waving at reporters and photographers outside the building.
He is set to be cross-examined once again Wednesday after claiming publications within the Mirror Group Newspapers opted for unethical methods to obtain information, including using private investigators and phone-hacking tactics.
Prince Harry has returned to London court Wednesday against the UK's Daily Mirror. Reuters
The California-based royal showed up at court shortly before 10 a.m. local time in a black SUV. He once again arrived without his wife, Meghan Markle.
The Duke of Sussex was even seen flashing a smile at reporters and snappers outside the building. Reuters