Prince Harry Tells Court That "Knowingly False" Stories in the Press Had a "Snowball Effect" on His Relationships With Ex-Girlfriends

Prince Harry gave testimony in his privacy case against Associated Newspapers in a London court on Wednesday, January 21, sharing that stories in the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday impacted his romantic relationships. The Duke of Sussex admitted that press intrusion led to the decline of his long-term relationship with Chelsy Davy, alleging that Associated Newspapers used illegal tactics such as phone hacking to obtain information on his ex-girlfriend.

In his witness statement, the duke wrote that since Davy lived in South Africa, the majority of their communication was either by phone or text. "We, naturally, spoke about all types of personal matters, including all aspects of our relationship," he shared, adding, "As she was my girlfriend, I trusted Chelsy with the most private of information and vice versa."

Prince Harry claims that the publisher resorted to "unlawful information gathering techniques" to find out where Davy would be, adding that "her life as she knew it was over" when their relationship was outed in 2004. The couple dated on and off between then and 2010, and the duke admitted he grew "careful and suspicious" in his communications with Davy because of "paranoia" about the press.

"It feels creepy, like you’re constantly being watched, and you can’t trust anyone around you. It feels like every aspect of your life behind closed doors is being displayed to the world for amusement, entertainment and money," Prince Harry continued in his statement.

The duke said that the constant stories had "a snowball effect" on his relationship with Davy. "It added pressure and created a massive strain," he shared.

Davy wasn't the only royal girlfriend impacted. Prince Harry claimed his brief relationship with British TV presenter Natalie Pinkham in the early 2000s fell apart because he suspected stories about them were being leaked to the press.

The Duke of Sussex added that their relationship “broke down precisely because of the distrust and it led to me not speaking to her for years."

"It seemed as though someone was leaking these stories but I now believe that it will have come from listening in to our communications, voicemail interception and/ or blagging," he added.

"It is disturbing to feel that my every move, thought or feeling was being tracked and monitored just for the Mail to make money out of it," he said, adding, "And that knowingly false information was added to their stories in order to put me off the scent."