Prince Harry broke down in tears while testifying about his wife Meghan Markle in a London court on Wednesday.
Harry Tears Up During Testimony
Harry, 41, took the stand for nearly two hours as part of the lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. He is currently suing the publisher over allegations of unlawful information gathering. Associated Newspapers has strongly denied the claims.
This legal battle, which has been ongoing for years, is Harry’s final active lawsuit against the British press. Indeed, he’s spent years fighting over tabloid practices in court.
“Through the course of this litigation, [the situation] only got worse, not better,” Harry told the London High Court. This was a reference to alleged intrusion on the part of the British press. “It’s fundamentally wrong to put all of us through all of this again. What’s required is an apology and some accountability. It’s a horrible experience.”
Much of Harry’s testimony revolved around his wife Meghan, 44. Indeed, according to People Magazine, Harry’s voice began to crack and he started to tear up as he talked about the alleged toll that this has taken on her.
“By standing up here and taking a stand against them, this has continued to come after me,” Harry lamented as he became visibly emotional. “And they have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my Lord.”
‘A Horrible Experience…’
Earlier in his testimony, Harry was asked about the impact that press coverage had during his years-long legal battle. According to him, the media coverage only made things worse.
“Through the course of this litigation, it’s only got worse, not better,” he complained to the court. “It’s fundamentally wrong to put all of us through all of this again. What’s required is an apology and some accountability. It’s a horrible experience.”
In Harry’s witness statement, he claimed that he felt compelled to take the stand because of what he described as the “vicious” and “sometimes racist” coverage of Meghan after the start of their relationship in 2016.
“However, in late 2016, when my relationship with Meghan, my now wife, became public, I started to become increasingly troubled by the approach of not taking action against the press in the wake of vicious persistent attacks on, harassment of and intrusive, sometimes racist articles concerning Meghan. The situation got worse when she became pregnant and after our son, Archie, was born,” Harry said. Their son Archie is now 6 years-old.
Those inside the courtroom said that Harry looked “shaken” and was “still sniffling” as he left the stand.
“Prince Harry closed out his day in court visibly upset,” royal commentator Meredith Constant told Fox News.
Harry’s Victory Lap
Afterwards, Harry took a victory lap through his spokesperson, who claimed that his testimony was a huge hit.
“Today’s cross-examination was revealing in its weakness: assertive in tone, but collapsing immediately under scrutiny from Prince Harry,” the spokesperson claimed. “Associated couldn’t wait to get him off the stand, questioning him for just 2 hours and avoiding 10 of his 14 articles entirely.”
Harry himself also chimed in to add, “Today we reminded the Mail Group who is on trial and why.”
This comes six years after Harry and Meghan stepped down as senior royals. They then fled England and moved across the world to Southern California, where Meghan was born and raised.
While Harry has been making an increasing number of trips back to England as of late, Meghan has never gone back. Only time will tell if Meghan will ever set foot in England again. Given how unpopular she is with both the British press and the British people, however, it’s unlikely that Meghan will be returning there anytime soon.