Britain’s Prince Harry on Tuesday accused his family of hiding information about phone hacking from him to avoid sitting in the witness box and opening ‘a can of worms’.
This was according to a witness statement released on Tuesday.
The Duke of Sussex made the claim while making submissions for a privacy claim he and other celebrities have filed against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers (ANL).
Lawyers for the group, which was also made up of pop superstar Elton John, claim ANL commissioned the breaking and entry into private property, illegally intercepted voicemail messages, and obtained medical records.
The alleged offense dates from 1993-2011, but some went on as late as 2018, according to their lawyer David Sherborne.
In his partially redacted statement, Harry stated he ‘became aware that I had a claim that I could bring” only in 2018, in part due to the royal family — which he refers to as ‘the Institution’.
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‘The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about… phone hacking,’ he added.
‘That has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation.’
The prince went on to state: ‘The Institution made it clear that we did not need to know anything about phone hacking and it was made clear to me that the Royal Family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms.’
The prince, who lives in California, made a surprise appearance at London’s High Court on the first two of four days of hearings this week, on Monday alongside John and other figures involved.