Prince Harry Names Prince William and Kate Middleton in Court Statement During Tabloid Trial

Prince Harry named his brother, Prince William, and sister-in-law, Kate Middleton, in a witness statement filed as part of his lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday.

The Duke of Sussex’s witness statement was released on Jan. 21, the same day he took the stand to give evidence at London’s High Court. Harry, 41, is one of several high-profile individuals accusing the newspaper group of unlawful information gathering — allegations the publisher denies.

The list naming Prince William and Princess Kate was included in the witness statement to demonstrate the circle of people Harry says he was in regular contact with during the period in question, as part of his claim that private information could only have been obtained through unlawful means.

The list was included as part of Harry’s legal argument to outline the circle of people he says he was in “regular contact” with during the period covered by his claim, which runs from about 1996 to at least 2014. Harry alleges that private details appearing in press coverage could only have come from unlawfully obtained information shared within trusted relationships.

PEOPLE was inside the courtroom, and according to the witness statement, Harry named 10 associates he said he was in “regular contact” with during the relevant period, including Prince William, Princess Kate, his father King Charles, and former girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

Harry’s description of William focused on their closeness at the time, underscoring the level of trust he says existed between them during those years.

“HRH The Prince of Wales, my brother William,” the statement reads. “Due to his position, the press have always been very interested in him. As brothers, we naturally discussed personal aspects of our lives as we trusted each other with the highly sensitive information we shared about our private, family and professional lives.”

The inclusion of William comes amid a well-documented, years-long rift between the brothers. During Harry’s current visit to the U.K. for the trial, sources have confirmed there were no plans for him to see William, and tensions between them remain unresolved.

King Charles, 77, was listed next in the statement, with Harry similarly pointing to the intense media interest surrounding his father because of his royal role.

“HM King Charles III, my father,” the statement says. “During the Relevant Period, my father and I were in regular contact. He was also of great interest to the press due to his position. My private information would have been present on voicemails, containing highly personal, private and sensitive information, left on his landline phone by me, other members of my family and the Royal Household.”

Despite being in the U.K. at the same time, Harry also had no plans to meet with his father during this trip, which comes several months after their long-awaited reunion in London in September.

Chelsy Davy, whom Harry dated on and off from 2004 to around 2010, was also included in the list. In the statement, Harry detailed the long-distance nature of their relationship and the private communications they shared.

“Chelsy Davy, a former girlfriend. We met in about early 2004 and were in a relationship which continued, on and off, until around mid-2010. Our relationship was long distance for the majority of the time we were together, with Chelsy and I often living in different countries,” the entry read.

“We, naturally, spoke about all types of personal matters, including all aspects of our relationship and this was often through calls, texts and voicemails left on her mobile and landline phone in South Africa,” the statement continued. “As she was my girlfriend, I trusted Chelsy with the most private of information and vice versa. I know that [private investigator] Gavin Burrows admitted doing lots of unlawful activities in respect of her which is deeply troubling but explains how Associated got so much information about us (often before others).”

Princess Kate, 44, appeared ninth on the list and was mentioned only briefly. Her entry was the shortest in the statement and included no elaboration.

“HRH The Princess of Wales, my brother’s wife,” the statement said.

Other figures named in the witness statement included former royal equerry Mark Dyer, Harry’s former private secretary Helen Asprey, and Tiggy Legge-Bourke, who served as a nanny to William and Harry during their childhood.

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Elsewhere in the filing, Harry said that as a “member of the Institution” — referring to the British royal family — he felt bound by its long-standing approach of “never complain, never explain” when it came to media coverage.

“There was no alternative; I was conditioned to accept it,” he said.