In a recent legal development, Prince Harry’s initial legal challenge against Buckingham Palace has encountered a setback, as a judge dismissed his claim alleging a secret deal between the palace and newspaper executives. The Duke of Sussex’s legal action against News Group Newspapers, the publisher of The Sun and News of the World, faced opposition, with the company arguing that Prince Harry had exceeded the permissible time limit to initiate legal proceedings after becoming aware of the alleged activity.
Prince Harry contended that a clandestine agreement among palace courtiers and newspaper executives had been the primary reason for the delay in bringing the case to court. This claim triggered a hearing to investigate the alleged secret deal, which was held earlier this month.
However, Justice Fancourt presiding over the case ruled that the existence of such a deal was “implausible” and subsequently rejected Prince Harry’s attempt to utilize it as the justification for the delayed claim. As a result, the phone-hacking aspect of the duke’s claim was deemed “time barred” and was subsequently dismissed.
While this represents a setback for Prince Harry’s legal team, the remainder of his case, which involves accusations of illegal activities such as private investigators obtaining information about him through “blagging,” will proceed to trial. The scheduled trial in January will address these remaining claims.
In his ruling, the judge emphasized the inconsistency of pursuing both the secret deal and other illegal activity allegations simultaneously. He underscored that presenting “alternative and inconsistent factual cases” is not permissible and highlighted that Prince Harry’s evidence appeared to contradict his own case.
Despite this setback, Prince Harry’s legal team will continue to pursue the remaining allegations in the court proceedings. The case has drawn significant public attention, given Prince Harry’s association with Buckingham Palace and his stance against certain media practices. As the trial date approaches, the public will closely observe the proceedings and their potential implications for the Duke of Sussex and his quest for justice.
