Prince Harry stepped into courtroom witness box Tuesday (June 6) to hold Britain害羞草研究所檚 tabloid press accountable for its 害羞草研究所渄estructive害羞草研究所� role throughout his life. But he soon found himself being held to account by a newspaper害羞草研究所檚 lawyer for how he could blame his anguish on articles he couldn害羞草研究所檛 remember reading.

The Duke of Sussex became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in over a century as he held a Bible in his right hand and, in a soft voice, swore to tell the 害羞草研究所渨hole truth and nothing but the truth害羞草研究所� in the High Court in London.

Harry accuses the publisher of the Daily Mirror of using unlawful techniques on an 害羞草研究所渋ndustrial scale害羞草研究所� to score front-page scoops on his life.

Sitting in the witness box, dressed in a dark suit and tie, Harry told Mirror Group Newspapers attorney Andrew Green that he had 害羞草研究所渆xperienced hostility from the press since I was born.害羞草研究所� The prince accused the tabloids of playing 害羞草研究所渁 destructive role in my growing-up.害羞草研究所�

Harry was forced almost immediately to acknowledge that he wasn害羞草研究所檛 sure he could recall the 33 specific articles he was complaining about from the thousands he said had been written about him.

害羞草研究所淚s it realistic, when you have been the subject of so much press intrusion by so many press, both domestic and international, to attribute specific distress to a particular article from 20 years ago, which you may not have seen at the time?害羞草研究所� Green asked.

害羞草研究所淚t isn害羞草研究所檛 a specific article, it is all of the articles,害羞草研究所� Harry said. 害羞草研究所淓very single article has caused me distress.害羞草研究所�

The case dates from 1996 to 2011 害羞草研究所� a period when phone hacking by tabloid journalists was later discovered to be widespread. It led to later revelations of more intrusive means such as phone tapping, home bugging and obtaining bank and medical records by deception.

Harry said the articles caused him to become depressed and paranoid, distrustful of friends, who he feared were feeding information to the media. His circle of friends shrank, relationships fell apart and he felt constantly in the glare of the journalists who were shaping the narrative of his life.

害羞草研究所淚 genuinely feel that in every relationship that I害羞草研究所檝e ever had 害羞草研究所� be that with friends, girlfriends, with family or with the army, there害羞草研究所檚 always been a third party involved, namely the tabloid press,害羞草研究所� Harry said in a written witness statement released Tuesday.

Green asked Harry to identify what evidence he had of phone hacking in specific articles, and Harry repeatedly said he害羞草研究所檇 have to ask that question of the journalist who wrote it. He continually insisted that the manner in which information had been obtained was highly or incredibly suspicious.

He said some of the journalists had been known for hacking or that there were invoices to third parties, including private investigators known for snooping, around the time of the articles.

When asked how reporters could have hacked his phone for an article about his 12th birthday 害羞草研究所� a time when he admitted he didn害羞草研究所檛 have a mobile phone 害羞草研究所� he suggested they may have hacked the phone of his mother, the late Princess Diana.

害羞草研究所淭hat害羞草研究所檚 just speculation you害羞草研究所檝e come up with now,害羞草研究所� Green suggested.

The attorney then pointed out that a reference in the same article to him taking his parents害羞草研究所� divorce badly was obvious.

害羞草研究所淟ike most children, I think, yes,害羞草研究所� Harry said.

But the prince said it was not legitimate to report such information and 害羞草研究所渢he methods in which it was obtained seem incredibly suspicious.害羞草研究所�

Green then pointed out that his mother previously made public comments to reporters about the difficulties her children faced after the divorce.

The 38-year-old son of King Charles III is the first senior British royal since the 19th century to face questioning in a court. An ancestor, the future King Edward VII, appeared as a witness in a trial over a gambling scandal in 1891.

Harry has made a mission of holding the U.K. media to account for what he sees as their hounding of him and his family.

Setting out the prince害羞草研究所檚 case in court Monday, his lawyer, David Sherborne, said that from Harry害羞草研究所檚 childhood, British newspapers used hacking and subterfuge to mine snippets of information that could be turned into front-page scoops.

He said that stories about Harry were big sellers for the newspapers, and around 2,500 articles had covered all facets of his life during the time period of the case 害羞草研究所� 1996 to 2011 害羞草研究所� from injuries at school to experimenting with marijuana and cocaine, to ups and downs with girlfriends.

害羞草研究所淣othing was sacrosanct or out of bounds害羞草研究所� for the tabloids, the lawyer said.

Hacking 害羞草研究所� the practice of guessing or using default security codes to listen to celebrities害羞草研究所� cellphone voice messages 害羞草研究所� was widespread at British tabloids in the early years of this century. It became an existential crisis for the industry after the revelation in 2011 that the News of the World had hacked the phone of a slain 13-year-old girl. Owner Rupert Murdoch shut down the paper and several of his executives faced criminal trials.

Mirror Group has paid more than 100 million pounds ($125 million) to settle hundreds of unlawful information-gathering claims, and printed an apology to phone hacking victims in 2015.

But the newspaper denies or hasn害羞草研究所檛 admitted any of Harry害羞草研究所檚 claims.

Green said Monday there was 害羞草研究所渟imply no evidence capable of supporting the finding that the Duke of Sussex was hacked, let alone on a habitual basis.害羞草研究所�

Harry害羞草研究所檚 fury at the U.K. press 害羞草研究所� and sometimes at his own royal relatives for what he sees as their collusion with the media 害羞草研究所� runs through his memoir, 害羞草研究所淪pare,害羞草研究所� and interviews conducted by Oprah Winfrey and others.

He has blamed paparazzi for causing the car crash that killed his mother, and said harassment and intrusion by the U.K. press, including allegedly racist articles, led him and his wife, Meghan, to flee to the U.S. in 2020 and leave royal life behind.

Brian Melley And Jill Lawless, The Associated Press

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