The Duke of Sussex is set to commence his latest court case, against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), the publisher of the Daily Mirror, over accusations of historical phone-hacking, just days after his father was crowned King.
The joint lawsuit also involves former Girls Aloud bandmate Cheryl, footballer and TV presenter Ian Wright and the estate of the late singer George Michael.
Image: Cheryl
Image: Late pop star George Michael
Prince Harry is one of the people expected to give evidence in person in June.
Mirror Group deny the allegations, some of which relate to when Piers Morgan was the Mirror’s editor. The journalist and presenter has since become a vocal critic of the prince and his wife, the Duchess of Sussex.
It’s the latest of multiple cases brought against the tabloid press by Harry and Meghan over the last few years, and this is just one of several cases Prince Harry is currently involved in.
Here’s everything you need to know.
Image: Michael Le Vell plays Kevin Webster in Coronation Street
Who’s involved?
The Duke of Sussex v Mirror Group Newspapers will take place at the High Court in London and is set to last for six or seven weeks. The Honourable Mr Justice Fancourt is the judge presiding over the case.
Prince Harry, who will be cross-examined over the allegations, is expected to be critical of ex Daily Mirror editor Morgan, who led the paper from 1995 to 2004.
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Hi appearance in the witness box will make him the first senior royal to give evidence in a courtroom since the 19th Century.
While Prince Harry is one of the key players, as a group litigation he is not the only claimant.
The 38-year-old royal is bringing the action along with others including former Girls Aloud bandmate Cheryl, actor Ricky Tomlinson, ex-footballer and TV presenter Ian Wright and the estate of the late singer George Michael.
Other claimants selected for the trial are former Coronation Street stars Michael Le Vell and Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife Fiona Wightman and model Paul Sculfor.
David Sherborne is the lawyer representing Prince Harry.
Image: Daily Mirror
Who are Mirror Group Newspapers?
Mirror Group Newspapers is part of the publisher Reach, which is one of Britain’s biggest newspaper groups.
Previously known as Trinity Mirror, Reach owns multiple national papers including the Daily Mirror, Daily Express, Daily Star, local newspapers including the Manchester Evening News and the Liverpool Echo, and the magazine OK!
The company’s headquarters is based at Canary Wharf in London.
What’s alleged?
The lawsuit alleges that unlawful information was gathered on behalf of MGN journalists between 1996 and 2011.
MGN has contested the claims and argues that some have been brought too late. Mirror Group have previously accepted that phone hacking took place at its titles, and paid hundreds of millions of pounds in settlements to victims.
Lawyers for the claimants say Harry’s case relates to a number of articles published between 1996 and 2011 including information that was allegedly obtained through unlawful means, such as phone hacking.
They say his family and friends – including King Charles and late TV presenter Caroline Flack – were also illegally targeted.
While 148 articles were initially flagged to the court by Harry’s team, only around 33 articles will be considered at trial.
The prince launched the case back in 2019, but it is only now coming to court.
Image: Lord Justice Sir Brian Leveson
What was the Leveson Inquiry and why is it relevant?
In 2011, judge Sir Brian Leveson led a public inquiry after it was revealed News Of The World journalists had hacked the phone of murdered school girl Milly Dowler.
Initially intended to be carried out in two sections, the first part of the Leveson Inquiry looked at the culture, practices and ethics of the press. It involved celebrities including Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller, Steve Coogan and Charlotte Church.
Part two of the Leveson Inquiry was meant to investigate the relationship between journalists and the police, but never took place. There have since been calls to re-open the uncompleted inquiry, with activists including those from the Hacked Off campaign saying such cases as this show wrongdoing within some newspapers is still taking place.
Image: Harry has several cases against Associated Newspapers – publishers of the Daily Mail
Who else is Prince Harry taking to court?
Harry and Meghan have filed at least seven lawsuits against the British and American media outlets since 2019, and the prince is currently pursuing four cases against UK tabloids.
The royal is one of a group of high-profile figures alleging unlawful information gathering at Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline. The publisher denies the allegations, which include phone-tapping and bugging people’s homes. The lawsuit also involves Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence – Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
Harry also has a second ongoing libel case against ANL over an article about his security arrangements in The Mail on Sunday. The paper says the article was based on “honest opinion”. He has a separate legal fight against the Home Office over the same protection issues.
And Prince Harry is also suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of The Times, The Sunday Times and The Sun newspapers (as well as the now-defunct News of the World) for alleged phone-hacking. The Sun has always denied phone hacking took place at the paper, and the publisher has not admitted any unlawful conduct at the title. Actor Hugh Grant is also involved in the joint action.
Why is Prince Harry doing this?
Prince Harry’s hatred of the British tabloid press is well-documented – he has written about it at length in his memoir Spare and spoken about it in numerous resulting TV interviews.
He has said he blames the paparazzi for the part they played in his mother’s death and vented his frustration at the “injustice” of no one being sent to jail following the inquest into the car crash that killed her.
He has also said that media intrusion was part of the reason he and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and moved to America.
Image: Harry and Meghan stepped away from royal duties in 2020. Pic: Netflix
Just this year Prince Harry accused members of his family of getting into bed with the devil – the tabloid press – to sully him and his wife Meghan to improve their own reputations.
He has previously described the British tabloid press as “the mothership of online trolling,” and says he is exposing alleged media wrongdoing “to save journalism as a profession”.
The prince says it’s his “life’s work” to change the British “media landscape,” making it more accountable for its actions. With a high profile and deep pockets, it’s a mission he’s started in earnest.
It remains to be seen whether the tell-all interviews, a revealing memoir and now numerous court cases assist Prince Harry in his crusade against the media, or simply fuel the fire he says he is so keen to put out.
Stanley Tucci says he doesn’t understand why there has been a sudden rise in the “very far right”.
The 64-year-old actor, author and food connoisseur leads a new show aptly named Tucci In Italy, where he looks at the world-renowned cuisine and how its ingredients tell much more than just what is served on the plate.
Speaking to Sky News, he says painting the full picture of the Italian landscape was the driving force behind the show and that he made a conscious decision to include stories from all backgrounds.
Image: Stanley Tucci tries lampredotto while in Florence. Pic: National Geographic/Matt Holyoak
“I asked that we include a story about a gay couple and their children, whether it was adopted or surrogate or however, because I thought it was a really interesting story.
“I am confused as to the direction that so much of the world is heading now to the very far right and sort of vilifying the other, meaning people who aren’t like us, but I don’t quite know what that means because we are all so different.
“There is no us, right? We’re all different, so I don’t know what the problem is there.”
Image: Canci checi, a Ladin staple consisting of fried ravioli. Pic: National Geographic
Image: Tucci cooks at BBQ joint ristoro mucciante in Abruzzo with one of the owners, Rodolfo Mucciante, right. Pic: National Geographic/Matt Holyoak
Tucci adds that he wants to “look at what’s happening in Italy politically and how it’s affecting people but, of course, all through the prism of food”.
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“Those people are sitting there having a traditional Sunday lunch with the grandparents, with the grandkid, and they’re a family and yet the government says they’re not a family.
“I think that’s really interesting because Italy puts so much emphasis on family and for all practical purposes, Italy has a negative birth rate so why wouldn’t you want to welcome more children into your society who are Italian?”
Image: Chef and owner Matilde Pettini opened Dalla Lola in 2021 and discusses their dishes with Tucci. Pic: National Geographic/Matt Holyoak
Image: Ramadan El Sabawy hands Tucci a plate with his son’s crispy margherita pizza. Pic: National Geographic
In 2016, Italy passed a law that now recognises civil unions for same-sex couples in the country.
It grants couples many of the same rights and financial protections as married heterosexual couples, however, it doesn’t give LGBT+ couples the right to joint adoption or in vitro fertilisation.
In 2023, the Italian government extended its initial ban on surrogacy to include arrangements made by its citizens abroad.
Its legislation subjects any intended parent who breaks the law to jail terms of up to two years and fines of up to €1m (£846,000).
The law doesn’t include those children who were already registered before it came into effect.
Image: Tucci holding a cheese made in Lazio. Pic: National Geographic/Matt Holyoak
Image: Torcinello, a traditional sausage, served with scampi, sea asparagus, and sweet pepper sauce. Pic: National Geographic
The buzzword on social media over the last few weeks has been “conclave” following the death of Pope Francis and of course, the Oscar-winning film of the same name.
Our interview took place just before the real conclave took place, which resulted in Pope Leo XIV becoming the first American-born leader of the Catholic Church.
Starring in the film alongside Ralph Fiennes, Tucci became inadvertently connected to the news agenda when life began to imitate art.
“It’s fascinating. I mean, look, I don’t know anything about it, really, other than I made a movie about it. That’s all I know. But it is, the timing of it is unfortunate, but it’s also oddly coincidental.”
Tucci In Italy looks at traditional Italian cuisine but also explores the impact history, changing political landscapes, migration and culture can have on a dinner plate.
Image: Timballo being cut, revealing the intricate layers of crespelle and meatballs inside. Pic: National Geographic
Image: Mr Tucci fly fishes in a glacial river with locals in Trentino-Alto Adige. Pic: National Geographic/Matt Holyoak
Image: Hay soup in a loaf of homemade bread, served in the restaurant Gostner Schwaige. Pic: National Geographic
He visits the northern area of Trentino-Alto Adige, which borders Austria, to look at how Mussolini’s intense policies regarding German identity shaped the area and people today.
“It’s an incredibly beautiful region, but also it’s the way those two cultures have figured out a way to get along without violence, without blame, without hating each other, without divisiveness.
“I think it’s really wonderful. It’s a testament to… How easy it can be for us to get along.”
Tucci In Italy premieres 21 May at 8pm on National Geographic and all episodes stream from 19 May on Disney+.
He is the man behind the biggest-selling electronica record of all time, but the success of Moby’s album Play came with some unwanted side effects.
His fifth record, the album charted at 33 upon its release in the UK in May 1999, and fell out of the Top 40 after just a week. But despite the lacklustre initial response, Play started to pick up steam, slowly climbing the chart until it reached number one in April 2000.
It stayed there for five weeks and remained in the Top 40 until March 2001, re-entering the Top 100 several times over the next few years.
While Moby had experienced success with Go, the breakthrough 1991 single from his self-titled debut album, Play was next level. Even if you don’t know the album, you’ll know at least some of the songs – Porcelain, Why Does My Heart Feel So Bad?, Honey, and Natural Blues. The record was ubiquitous and fame hard to escape.
Image: Pic: Adam Warzawa/EPA/Shutterstock
“I think fame and fortune are, probably, empirically two of the most destructive forces on the planet,” he says, speaking from his home in Los Angeles. “I mean, if fame and fortune fixed things, Kurt Cobain and Amy Winehouse would still be making records.
“I guess it’s a very easy system to buy into, especially in a place like… in New York, in Los Angeles, in these big cities that are driven by ostentation and consumption and the need for external validation. It’s hard to resist those temptations. But then… you look at the consequences of that.
“I’d rather try and live a rational life and not necessarily let other people’s concerns dictate what my concerns should be.”
Now sober and with a few years between him and those heady days of peak fame, in recent years Moby has been doing something few established stars in his position would do – giving his compositions away for free.
“I have a house, I have a car, I have some hoodies, I have food in the fridge, I don’t really need anything more,” he insists. “To live and work in a way where I’m not driven by money, why not use that as an opportunity?”
Selfless selfishness or selfish selflessness
Image: Pic: Wael Hamzeh/EPA/Shutterstock
Over a decade ago, the musician came up with the quietly radical idea of making a free music licensing platform, MobyGratis. The idea was simple and rather exciting, he admits – to allow anyone unrestricted access to hundreds of his compositions to use them however they wish. From film scores to remixes, whatever.
“It’s either selfless selfishness or selfish selflessness, meaning I’m giving these things away but the benefit to me is I get to see what people do with it,” he says.
“There are a lot of things about the current digital media climate that are terrifying and baffling and confusing, but one of the things I love is the egalitarian nature of it.”
The idea of giving his music away for free runs somewhat contrary to the AI copyright battle many artists are currently speaking out over, with the likes of Ed Sheeran and Damon Albarn calling for greater protections in law to prevent artificial intelligence software from scraping their work to learn from it.
Remix culture and creative processes
“I completely appreciate and respect the concerns that other people have,” says Moby. “I think they’re incredibly valid… but for me personally, I don’t know. Maybe it’s naive and stupid of me, but I kind of just ignore it.
“I put this music out there and you sort of hope for the best, which probably is completely dim-witted of me. Part of remix culture is seeing how people reinterpret your work; sometimes it’s mediocre, sometimes it is bad, but sometimes it is so inspired, and I can actually learn a lot from other creative processes.”
The dance artist also takes issue with how the act of giving and compassion more generally has come to be seen, and references Elon Musk‘s comments on Joe Rogan’s podcast in April, when the billionaire said: “We’ve got civilizational suicidal empathy going on.”
Moby says that while “we live in this world of fear, selfishness, desperation and viciousness”, he supports “anything that is a rejection of the manosphere… anything that rejects Elon and the idea that empathy is a weakness and reminds people that life can be simple and decent.”
He jokes: “I’m definitely becoming like the weird old guy that you’ll see in the mountains, sort of like not making eye contact and mumbling about chemtrails or something.”
This is a man who is aware his approach to fame, fortune and giving stuff away is somewhat out-of-keeping with the times we’re living in – but the thing is, Moby doesn’t seem to care.