The judge presiding over the privacy case is ordering Prince Harry to explain why a series of messages with his memoir Spare ghostwriter were “destroyed.”
According to The Telegraph, the prince is being accused of “deliberately” destroying potential evidence related to his High Court phone hacking claim against The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspaper (NGN).
The publisher’s attorney Anthony Hudson stated in court last week that Prince Harry deleted drafts of his 2023 memoir, Spare. He also claimed that messages to the book’s ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer were deleted.
The judge, Justice Fancourt, revealed he had seen “troubling evidence that a large number of potentially relevant documents and confidential messages between the Duke and the ghostwriter of Spare were destroyed sometime between 2021 and 2023, well after this claim was underway.”
Justice Fancourt then said that the documentation is “rather remarkable” and is a “cause for concern. He also said it’s not “transparently clear” about what exactly happened.
He then asked Prince Harry, who had not been present in court at the time, for a witness statement revealing “what happened to the messages between himself and his ghostwriter and whether any attempts were made to retrieve them.”
Prince Harry is reportedly one of the dozens of people suing NGN over claims of invasions of privacy. The incidents were done by NGN journalists and investigators between the years 1994 and 2016. Some of the cases are reportedly heading to trial in Jan. 2025.
Prince Harry’s Attorney Accuses The Sun’s Publisher of a ‘Transparent Old-Fashion Fishing Expedition’
Meanwhile, Prince Harry’s attorney, David Sherbourne recently accused NGN of a “transparent, old-fashioned fishing expedition” amid the legal battle.
“NGN’s tactical and sluggish approach to disclosure wholly undermines the deliberately sensational assertion that [the Duke of Sussex] has not properly carried out the disclosure exercise,” Sherborne said in court documents obtained by PEOPLE. “This is untrue. In fact, the Claimant has already made clear that he has conducted extensive searches, going above and beyond his obligations.”
The attorney further pointed out that the investigation did include a physical search of Prince Harry’s home in California. This confirmed that old email addresses were no longer accessible. It also makes inquiries to the “Royal Household” about relevant documents.
The prince is now involved in four lawsuits against UK-based newspaper publishers. The allegations include phone hacking and other “unlawful” acts.
Earlier this year, Prince Harry lost his legal battle to have police security in the UK. He stated at the time that he felt “forced to step back from his royal role and leave the UK in 2020″ due to security concerns for his family.
However, the High Court judge, Peter Lane, decided to uphold the UK government’s previous decision. No security will automatically be given to the prince and his family.