Lawyer says Prince Harry could claim 'significant damages' from privacy lawsuit

Prince Harry has a good chance of winning his privacy suit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) over alleged phone hacking, according to a former federal prosecutor, who cited the royal's lengthy witness statement as the reason.

Neama Rahmani told US Weekly that the Duke of Sussex's 55-page written testimony helped bolster his case. She said, "I'm sure he prepared it with the help of his lawyers to really show how he was affected by this hacking. You know, how personal this information was."

The legal expert and president of West Coast Trial Lawyers added that while there is no knowing what the judge will do about the case, she still expects that the 38-year-old will be "awarded significant damages" because his allegations against MGN are "pretty outrageous."

"My prediction is that the prince is gonna get a significant award. ... I mean, this really crosses the line in terms of reporting — hacking someone's phone. That's something that's unlawful," Rahmani said.

Prince Harry's testimony was released on Tuesday, June 6, before he took the stand in London's High Court to be cross-examined by the defendant's lawyer Andrew Green KC. He missed the first day of the hearing on Monday, June 5. His attorney, David Sherborne, told the court the royal flew in late to London Sunday night after he celebrated his daughter Princess Lilibet Diana's second birthday in California with his wife Meghan Markle and their son Prince Archie.

The Better Up CIO filed a civil case against MGN, which means there is no jury involved in the trial. Instead, the presiding judge, Honourable Justice Fancourt, will give the verdict. In his witness statement, the Duke of Sussex accused MGN and its journalists and publications, including the Daily Mirror, of using unlawful practices in retrieving information. These include phone hacking, blagging, and the use of private investigators.

He included 30 published stories between 1996 and 2011 that he alleged contained illegally-obtained information. He believes that his correspondence with friends, family, and loved ones was intercepted, especially his voicemail messages.

The Duke of Sussex told the court that new voicemails from his phone "would vanish" before he has had a chance to listen to them. He said he only checks the messages when he sees the "little envelope symbol flashed" on his phone which signals a new message.

He testified, "This symbol would vanish before I had a chance to listen to the voicemail. I don't know how long after they'd been listened to that the symbol vanished, presumably straight away. With the benefit of the knowledge I have now gained of the details of how phone hacking took place, I believe that both mine and my Associates' voicemail messages were hacked."

Prince Harry namedropped former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan in his hacking allegations. He called him "vile" and claimed that as a consequence of him bringing his case to court, the former "Good Morning Britain" host has subjected him and Meghan Markle to a barrage of horrific personal attacks and intimidation.

The talk show host has long been a vocal critic of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle. His criticism of the Duchess of Sussex's admission that she became suicidal as a working royal had prompted his exit from "GMB."

But Morgan has since denied ever hacking anyone's phone, knowing how to hack, and telling his writers during his editorial days to go into other people's phone messages. When asked about the duke' written testimony by a reporter, he sarcastically replied, "I wish him luck with his privacy campaign and I look forward to reading it in his next book."

Prince Harry faced cross-examination from June 6 to June 7 and is now back in California with his family. But the trial, which started in May, is expected to last for six to seven weeks.