A tabloid article which the Duke of Sussex claims was obtained illegally was published in a Sunday newspaper the day before, the High Court has heard.
The 107-word story, published in the Daily Mirror on November 29, 2004, identified Chelsy Davy as the “pretty blonde” he had been on holiday with in Argentina.
Prince Harry, 38, claims the information came from phone hacking, phishing or some other form of illegal information gathering.
But former executive news editor Anthony Harwood, who wrote the story, told the court the Mail on Sunday had identified Ms Davey the day before.
The Sunday paper had published a picture of Ms Davy the day before in an article which quoted a source at El Remanso polo lodge, 55 miles from Buenos Aires, as saying: “Harry and Chelsy were like any young couple in love, kissing and holding hands and he seemed quite inebriated.
“They looked madly in love and at one point Harry admitted that she was his first true love. They were doing all the normal things young people do. We had a little barbecue and they sat next to each other and laughed and joked. She seemed very at ease in his company.
The Mirror story repeated the information, adding only a brief quote from a student who said she danced with the prince in a nightclub.
“Incredibly upsetting”
The Duke is suing Mirror Group Newspapers, claiming he was the victim of illegal information gathering, including phone hacking.
He has referred to 140 articles published in the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People between 1996 and 2010, which he claims were obtained through illegal means. Of these 33 were selected as a sample on which to base his case, one of which was Mr Harwood’s story entitled: ‘Harry is a Chelsea fan’.
The Duke was particularly hurt by the tabloid stories about Ms Davy and blamed MGN for the end of their relationship.
He said in court documents that the Zimbabwean, whom he had been dating for six years, had decided “the royal life was not for her” because of illegal spying by MGN journalists.
The Duke said her decision to end their relationship in 2010 was “incredibly upsetting” for him.
Mr Harwood said in evidence that the Mirror’s US editor was asked to go to Argentina in 2004 to cover Prince Harry’s celebration.
A bar owner revealed the royal was accompanied by a “mysterious blonde” and he was trying to find out who she was, he said.
“The editor will not be impressed”
“As it happened, the Mail on Sunday identified the girl as Chelsea Davey and so provided me with my follow-up,” he added.
The same story was reported in several other dailies that day.
Mr Harwood explained that the many celebrity mobile numbers he had in his Filofax and Palm Pilot had been collected over time by other journalists.
“Nobody wanted to be the nightly news editor who couldn’t get in touch with a celebrity or their rep for a big breaking story because they had a junk contact book,” he said. “The editor will not be impressed.”
David Sherborne, on behalf of the Duke, expressed disbelief that such numbers would be used to directly call celebrities late at night.
Mr Harwood said: “You have to understand that most of these numbers are never called.
“You get the numbers in case you need them. You can’t ignore a story because you might wake up David Beckham.
The hearing before Judge Fancourt continues.
Leave a Reply