Prince Harry Ordered by Judge to Explain 'Destroyed' Messages with Memoir Ghostwriter amid Privacy Case
The judge said he's seen "troubling evidence" that "potentially relevant" documents and Harry's messages with the ghostwriter of 'Spare' were wiped after the claim was underway
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Prince Harry arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice in London on March 30, 2023Prince Harry has been ordered to explain how potential evidence has gone missing in his lawsuit against the publishers of a British tabloid after he was accused of destroying documents and communications.
Attorney Anthony Hudson — representing the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN) — told the court on June 27 that the Duke of Sussex, 39, deleted drafts of his 2023 memoir, Spare, as well as messages with the book's ghostwriter, J.R. Moehringer.
Justice Fancourt said he's 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," according to The Telegraph.
The judge said the lack of documentation was "rather remarkable" and gave him "cause for concern," the outlet reported. Adding it was "not transparently clear about what happened," the judge asked Prince Harry, who was not present in court, for a witness statement explaining "what happened to the messages between himself and his ghostwriter and whether any attempts were made to retrieve them."
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Prince Harry arrives to give evidence at the Mirror Group Phone hacking trial at High Court on June 7, 2023 in LondonRelated: Prince Harry Will Be Honored with the Pat Tillman Award for Service at 2024 ESPYS
Prince Harry's attorney David Sherborne accused NGN of a "transparent, old-fashioned fishing expedition," according to court papers obtained by PEOPLE.
"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. "This is untrue. In fact, the Claimant has already made clear that he has conducted extensive searches, going above and beyond his obligations."
Sherborne added that these measures have included a physical search of Prince Harry's California home, confirming old email addresses were no longer accessible and making inquiries to the "Royal Household" about relevant documents.
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Prince Harry is one of the dozens suing NGN over claims of invasions of privacy by their journalists and investigators between 1994 and 2016. Some of the cases are likely to be heard at a trial in January 2025.
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David Sherbourne reads a written statement on behalf of client Prince Harry following the ruling in his favour in a lawsuit against the Mirror Group on December 15, 2023 in LondonRelated: Prince Harry Comforts Woman Reliving Moment She Told 5-Year-Old Son of Dad's Death
The Duke of Sussex has recently been involved in four lawsuits against newspaper publishers in the U.K. over allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful acts.
Separately, Prince Harry lost his legal challenge to have police security in the U.K. earlier this year. He previously said he "felt forced" to step back from his royal role and leave the U.K. in 2020, citing security concerns for his family — his wife, Meghan Markle, and their two children, Prince Archie, 5, and Princess Lilibet, 3 — but High Court judge Peter Lane upheld the decision by the U.K. government not to give them automatic protection in the country and downgrade his security.
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