Prince Harry Receives Apology From Mirror Publisher Amid Phone Hacking Trial

Prince Harry received an apology from MGN as the phone hacking trial in London kicked off.

MGN, the publisher of Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Daily Express, admitted to unlawfully gathering information (UIG) for a single instance as the phone hacking trial against it kicked off Wednesday.

"MGN unreservedly apologizes for all such instances of UIG," the British publisher said in its court filing, the BBC reported, adding that it "assures the claimants that such conduct will never be repeated."

In the filing, MGN clarified that it apologized not for "tactical" purposes but because such conduct should have never happened in the first place.

"This apology is not made with the tactical objective of reducing damages (MGN accepts that an apology at this stage will not have that effect), but is made because such conduct should never have occurred," the filing added, per CBS News.

MGN also acknowledged that the legal challenge brought up by the Duke of Sussex "warrants compensation." An MGN journalist at The People had reportedly instructed a private investigator to gather information about Prince Harry's activities at the Chinawhite nightclub in February 2004.

The subsequent article in The People is not among the claims brought by Prince Harry. MGN also denied the allegations that it intercepted voicemails.

Prince Harry skipped the first day of trial, but his attorney Barrister David Sherborne was there to address the London court over the alleged harassment that his client endured from the media.

"We all remember the images of him walking behind his mother's coffin," Sherborne shared. "From that moment on, as a schoolboy and from his career in the army and as a young adult he was subjected, it was clear, to the most intrusive methods of obtaining his personal information. It also caused great challenges in his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy and made him fear for his and her safety."

Prince Harry and Markle have at least seven lawsuits against the U.S. and U.K. media outlets since 2019. He is involved in four cases against U.K. tabloids, including the privacy lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN).

In his filing, he claimed that his brother, Prince William, received "a very large sum of money" in a 2020 phone hacking settlement from Rupert Murdock's media empire. He also accused his brother of being part of an alleged deal between his family and media tormentors.

An unnamed pal of Prince William told Daily Beast that Prince Harry was cutting his ties with his big brother with his revelations.

"This is scorched earth stuff from Harry. By revealing these secrets, he is burning everything to the ground. He is making it very clear that he considers his relationship with William is over," the insider said.