Prince Harry Calls His Legal Win in Phone Hacking Case 'Vindicating and Affirming' After Years of Fighting the U.K. Tabloid Industry

After being branded as one of the "biggest losers of 2023," Prince Harry can finally celebrate a win! The Duke of Sussex released a statement after the High Court ruled on Friday, December 15, that there was "extensive" phone hacking by the Mirror Group from 2006 to 2011.

"Today is a great day for truth as well as accountability," Harry said in a statement.

Throughout his life, Harry has been open about the contentious relationship he has with the tabloid industry, and he was enthusiastic about the court's decision.

"I'd like to thank my legal team for so successfully dismantling the sworn testimony of Mirror Group Newspaper's senior executives, legal department and journalists who at least turned up to Court, unlike their colleagues, who were perhaps too afraid to do so," he penned.

Harry began his legal battle in 2019, and the path to reaching a verdict was lengthy.

"The journey to justice can be a slow and painful one, and since bringing my claim almost five years ago, defamatory stories and intimidating tactics have been deployed against me and at my family's expense," the Duke of Sussex continued.

"And so, as I too have learned through this process, patience is, in fact, a virtue – especially in the face of vendetta journalism," he added.

In June, Harry made history as the first prominent member of the British royal family to provide evidence in court since King Edward VII, who was a witness in an 1870 divorce case.

"Today's ruling is vindicating and affirming," Harry concluded. "I've been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today's victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press – it's a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues."

The media company accepted the judge's decision to award Harry $180,000 in damages.

"We welcome today's judgment that gives the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago," the Mirror Group said. "Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility and paid appropriate compensation."

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Britain's High Court Justice Timothy Fancourt publicly addressed his decision in an announcement.

Fancourt stated the Mirror Group "only played a small part in everything that the Duke suffered" and "was not responsible for all the unlawful activity that was directed at the Duke, and that a good deal of the oppressive behavior of the press towards the Duke over the years was not unlawful at all."

Although Fancourt doesn't see the Mirror Group as the sole perpetrator in Harry's misfortune, they weren't innocent.

"I consider that his phone was only hacked to a modest extent, and that this was probably carefully controlled by certain people at each newspaper," Fancourt said.

"There was a tendency for the Duke in his evidence to assume that everything published was the product of voicemail interception because phone hacking was rife within Mirror Group at the time," he revealed. "But phone hacking was not the only journalistic tool at the time, and his claims in relation to the other 18 articles did not stand up to careful analysis."