Prince Harry story in Mirror taken from rival paper and not phone-hacked, court hears
A tabloid newspaper article the Duke of Sussex has alleged was obtained unlawfully had been published in a Sunday newspaper the previous day, the High Court has heard.
The 107-word story, which was published in the Daily Mirror on November 29, 2004, identified Chelsy Davy as the “pretty blonde” with whom he had been on holiday in Argentina.
Prince Harry, 38, has claimed that the information came from phone hacking, blagging or another form of unlawful information gathering.
But former executive news editor Anthony Harwood, who wrote the story, told the court that the Mail on Sunday had identified Ms Davy the previous day.
The Sunday newspaper had published a photograph of Ms Davy the previous day in an article that quoted a source at the El Remanso polo lodge, 55 miles from Buenos Aires, saying: “Harry and Chelsy were like any young couple in love, kissing and holding hands, and he seemed quite besotted.
“They looked madly in love and at one point Harry admitted she was his first true love. They did all the normal things young people do. We held a small barbecue and they sat beside each other and were laughing and joking. She seemed very relaxed in his company.”
The Mirror story repeated the information, adding only a short quote from a student who said she had danced with the Prince at a nightclub.
‘Incredibly upsetting’
The Duke is suing Mirror Group Newspapers, claiming that he was the victim of unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking.
He has pleaded 140 articles published in the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and The People between 1996 and 2010, which he alleges were obtained through illegal means. Of those, 33 have been selected as a sample on which to base his case, one of which is Mr Harwood’s story headlined: “Harry is a Chelsy fan.”
The Duke was particularly aggrieved by tabloid stories concerning Ms Davy and has blamed MGN for the end of their relationship.
He said in court papers that the Zimbabwean, who he dated on and off for six years, decided “a royal life was not for her” because of illegal snooping by MGN journalists.
The Duke said her decision to end their relationship in 2010 was “incredibly upsetting” for him.
Mr Harwood said in his witness statement that the Mirror’s US editor had been asked to go to Argentina in 2004 to cover Prince Harry’s holiday.
A bar owner had revealed that the royal was accompanied by a “mystery blonde” and he was trying to find out who she was, he said.
‘The editor would not be impressed’
“As it happened, the Mail on Sunday identified the girl as Chelsy Davy and so provided me with my follow-up,” he added.
The same story was reported in several other daily papers that day.
Mr Harwood explained that the many mobile numbers of celebrities he had in his Filofax and Palm Pilot had been collected over time from other journalists.
“No one wanted to be the night news editor who couldn’t contact a celebrity, or their representative, on a major late-breaking story because they had a rubbish contacts book,” he said. “The editor would not be impressed.”
David Sherborne, for the Duke, expressed disbelief that such numbers would be used to call celebrities directly late at night.
Mr Harwood said: “You have to understand that most of these numbers are never ever called.
“You get numbers in case you need them. You can’t ignore a story because you might wake David Beckham up.”
The hearing, before Mr Justice Fancourt, continues.
