Prince Harry was on the verge of tears as he concluded his evidence at the High Court yesterday, describing the experience of recounting the highly personal stories written about him as a “recurring traumatic experience”.
The Duke of Sussex described his life as being “open season” to be commercialised.
He ended his testimony by saying: “They (ANL) continue to come after me, they have made my wife’s life an absolute misery my Lord.”
The duke’s voice broke and he appeared visibly emotional as he delivered the final sentence. Bowing to the judge and leaving the witness box, Harry continued to appear upset, sniffling as he exited through the door.
During his two and a half hours on the stand yesterday, the King’s youngest son spoke repeatedly about being unable to complain about intrusive press coverage while he was a member of the Royal Family.
He also insisted that none of his close friends would speak to the press.
Giving evidence at the High Court, Harry appeared to get frustrated by lawyers acting on behalf of ANL, snapping: “My social circles were not leaky, I want to make that absolutely clear.”
After almost three hours of questioning from ANL’s barrister on Wednesday, his own barrister David Sherborne asked him how the proceedings had made him feel. “It’s fundamentally wrong to put us through this again when all we wanted was an apology and accountability,” he said. “It’s a horrible experience.”
The duke said the case against ANL felt like a “recurring traumatic experience” and a “repeat of the past”, adding: “I have never believed that my life is open season to be commercialised by these people.”
He later said that the “claim that I don’t have any rights to any privacy is disgusting”.