Prince Harry Teases Revealing Evidence From Phone Hacking Trial to Future Markle-Harry Offspring

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Lightening the mood? Prince Harry reportedly cracked a joke about sharing evidence from his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers with his children.

Following his testimony against the media company on June 6th, Harry, who resides in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, was advised against disclosing any confidential evidence from the trial upon returning home. In a lighthearted response, the Duke of Sussex quipped whether the restriction applied to his children while on a FaceTime call with them.

During the trial against the Daily Mirror's publisher for phone hacking, Prince Harry made a quip that caught the attention of many. When asked about a story that appeared in the press regarding his injured thumb, he admitted that he was unsure whose phone was allegedly hacked to obtain the information. This led the lawyer for Mirror Group newspapers to question the validity of Harry's statement, to which the prince responded by clarifying that he was not the one who wrote the article.

In his witness statement released on Tuesday, Harry attributed the breakdown of his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy to alleged press intrusion. He explained that the constant media attention made Davy feel that a Royal life was not for her, which was a devastating blow for Harry at the time. Additionally, Harry addressed a 2002 article titled "Plot to rob the DNA of Harry," which he felt fueled rumors that King Charles III was not his biological father. This article came at a particularly difficult time for Harry, as he was still grieving the loss of his mother Princess Diana, who tragically passed away in 1997 following a car crash after being pursued by paparazzi.

During my teenage years, losing my mother just six years prior, stories like this felt incredibly damaging and painfully true,” he expressed. “I was deeply hurt by the unkind and malicious nature of these stories.” As the BetterUp CIO, Harry has taken legal action against various British tabloid publishers, including filing three lawsuits. On June 5, his case against the Mirror Group became the first to be tried. His testimony on Tuesday is also significant as it marks the first time a senior member of the royal family has given evidence since the 19th century.

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Prince Harry missed the opening statements of the trial due to his travel schedule. His lawyer, David Sherborne, clarified that the prince was en route to the U.K. after celebrating his daughter Lilibet's second birthday in California on June 4.

The legal team of the Mirror Group accused the author of Spare of wasting the court's time and deemed his absence as extraordinary. However, Sherborne defended his client by pointing out that Harry's travel and security arrangements put him in a different category from the other claimants. Judge Timothy Fancourt expressed his surprise at the duke's absence.