'It's a lot': Prince Harry appears emotional while admitting impact of High Court hacking trial

A more confident Prince Harry gives evidence against the Daily Mirror publisher, as ITV News Correspondent Rebecca Barry reports from the High Court

At the end of an eight-hour quizzing over stories on his love life and alleged invasions of privacy, Prince Harry appeared to become emotional as he was asked about the impact on him of bringing this case.

Over the course of cross examinations on Tuesday and Wednesday at the High Court, the Duke of Sussex was made to answer a myriad of questions as the trial over alleged unlawful information gathering continued.

His barrister, David Sherborne, said the duke has had to go through articles and answer questions "knowing this is a very public courtroom and the world's media are watching."

"How has that made you feel?"

After a long pause, in which he appeared emotional, the duke eventually answered: "Erm, it’s a lot."

Harry was then asked some additional questions by Mr Justice Fancourt before he left the witness box, letting out a deep sigh before he sat down among his legal team.

Harry, 38, is suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for damages, claiming journalists at its titles – which also include the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” - or gaining information by deception- and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.

He said stories on his love life were "embarrassing" and "awkward" as he denied "cavorting" with a mystery woman.

Across his two days in the witness box, tabloid reports of Prince Harry's former relationships, were scrutinised.

The prince relived stories about his past in front of the court, including articles charting the royal being dumped, claims of 'boozy lap dances' and 'cavorting with mystery women.'

During hours of testimony on Wednesday, Harry admitted he would feel "some injustice" if his hacking claims against the publisher of the Daily Mirror were not believed.

Harry arrived outside the Rolls Building in London shortly before 10am on Wednesday in a black Range Rover.

He alleges that about 140 articles published between 1996 and 2010 by MGN titles contained information gathered using unlawful methods, and 33 of these have been selected to be considered at the trial.

MGN is contesting his claims and has either denied or not admitted that articles about Harry being examined at the trial involved phone hacking or unlawful activity.

'This kind of article was embarrassing for me'

Prince Harry denied he was “cavorting” with a woman at rugby match at Twickenham in London in March 2009 and said that kind of article had been "embarrassing" for him.

"Everything that was highlighted was not true," he said.

Harry challenged the contents of March 2009 Daily Mirror article which alleged he “openly cavorted with his new girlfriend Astrid Harbord” in a hospitality box.

“I wasn’t cavorting,” Harry said, after Andrew Green KC, for MGN, said he had been in public.In his written witness statement, the duke said: “This kind of article from the defendant was just embarrassing for me.

“Friends teased me, it created an awkwardness between me and whichever girl was at the subject of the story.”

He said he had been shown six payments to a private investigator relating to Ms Harbord, “which shows that she was of prior interest to the Mirror”.

Asked in court whose mobile phone he thought was hacked, Harry replied: “I’m not sure because the evidence has been destroyed.”

Harry quizzed on 'boozy' lap-dancing club visit claims

Earlier, Harry claimed the risk was “worth the reward” for journalists, who he claimed hacked his phone to source a story surrounding a row with his ex after a boozy night out.

He was asked questions in relation to an April 2006 Sunday People article reporting his former girlfriend Chelsy Davy’s “fury” over his “boozy evening at a lap-dancing club” after visiting a Spearmint Rhino club near Slough with friends.

Andrew Green KC said a News of the World article, around the same time, mentioned a voice mail that Prince William had left for him imitating Ms Davy’s voice.

The barrister said this story was an “important step” leading to the police arresting News of the World journalist Clive Goodman and private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, who were both later convicted over phone hacking.

Mr Green said no MGN journalists were arrested at the time of a police investigation, adding journalists would have been taking an “enormous risk” by hacking Harry’s phone or those around him.

“I think there was a risk right from the beginning,” the duke said, adding: “I believe the risk is worth the reward for them”.

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During Wednesday morning's hearing, Mr Green also pointed to a Daily Mail article about Harry visiting a lap dancing club, which said that one of the dancers “bore a resemblance” to his then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.

Harry interjected to say that article was “factually inaccurate”

Mr Green suggested the People article contained no information that was not in the Mail one, to which Harry replied: “I don’t see any quotes from the Lithuanian lap dancer who sat on my lap, as in the (People) article.”

The duke described this as a “classic example” of a story about him originating from one media organisation and then “Mirror Group or anyone else who was one step behind would be encouraged to then go and find out more”.

‘Project Harry'

Prince Harry has said it was "incredibly disturbing” that Mirror journalists allegedly labelled payments made to private investigators looking into him as ‘Project Harry’.He added an article entitled “Hooray Harry’s dumped” about the Duke of Sussex breaking up with former girlfriend Chelsy Davy appeared to be “celebrating” their split and was “hurtful”, Harry told the High Court.

Referencing a private investigator invoice, Harry said the fact that “these payments were referred to as ‘Project Harry’ is incredibly disturbing”.

“The level of surveillance that I was under was quite something,” the duke said.

MGN's court documents say that it does not know what activities the invoice refers to, whether it relates to the story and it was sourced from a News of the World article on the same day and that there is no evidence of phone hacking.

Harry 'banned from war' after journalist reveals his location

The Duke of Sussex told his private secretary he was “feeling down or frustrated” after it was reported he had been “banned from going back to war”.

An Australian journalist revealed his location and an American website broke an embargo over reporting where Harry was serving.

Andrew Green KC, for MGN, told the court the duke had been earlier withdrawn from the conflict.

“This wasn’t about your private life was it?” Mr Green asked of the People article.

“No,” the duke replied, but added: “Are you suggesting that while I was in the Army that everything was available to the press to write about?”

Mr Green suggested that the “well-connected” author of the article would have been able to source information in it.

“It’s suspicious that so much is attributed to a royal source,” the Harry said, explaining his private secretary, Jamie Lowther Pinkerton, was someone he spoke to when he was “feeling down or frustrated about decisions being made”.

'I believe the Mirror Group had Chelsy’s number'

Prince Harry was also asked about an article published in the Sunday People in May 2005 about him having a knee injury and fellow cadets at Sandhurst complaining he was given “preferential treatment” by being let off “gruelling marches”.The barrister asked if the duke stood by the evidence in his witness statement, in which he said he wasn’t “going around discussing any medical issues or injuries”.

Harry replied: “Yes, it is entirely accurate. That is a reference to while I was at Sandhurst and the distrust that I ended up having … with the medical staff at Sandhurst.”

Mr Green turned to information in the People article about the duke using the computer room at Sandhurst to email his then girlfriend Chelsy Davy and suggested someone at the academy could have seen him doing so.

Harry said: “Unless somebody was watching me specifically for that, no, I don’t believe so.”

Asked if he believed that information came from unlawful information-gathering, the duke replied: “Yes, my lord, I have no idea how anybody would know.”

When asked who was hacked, Harry said: “I believe the Mirror Group had Chelsy’s number at this time.

“I’m not entirely sure my girlfriend would have given Mirror Group her number and also at the time my number was in (journalist) Nick Buckley’s palm pilot, and he was a prolific hacker.”

There was an 'industrial-scale destruction of evidence on all sides'

Also on Wednesday, in reference to the alleged lack of call data in Harry's claim, Andrew Green KC, asked Harry if he would be “disappointed” if the court found his phone was not hacked by MGN journalists.Harry told the court: “To have a decision against me and any of the other people (bringing a claim), given that Mirror Group have admitted hacking, yes it would feel like an injustice… if it wasn’t accepted.”

Mr Green then asked the duke: “So you want to have been phone hacked?”

Harry replied: “Nobody wants to be phone hacked.”

The Duke of Sussex also alleged the risk was “worth the reward” for journalists who were writing stories about him.

Mr Green asked him if his initial discussions with his lawyers were with a view to bringing his separate hacking claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN).

Harry said he believed there was a discussion about him wanting to put a stop to the “absolute intrusion and hate that was coming towards me and my wife and see if there was any way to find a different course of action, rather than relying on the institution’s way”.

Mr Green asked if he had wanted to bring an action against NGN first and then decided to also sue MGN, to which Harry replied: “No, I believe I filed the claims at pretty much the same time.” Harry added that there was “industrial-scale destruction of evidence on all sides”.

Asked by Mr Green where he had got the idea there was “industrial-scale destruction” from, he replied: “From my legal team.”

The duke said he was not aware there was no existing call data in relation to him, and was then asked if he believed he was being hacked on a daily basis.

He replied: “It could have been happening on a daily basis, I simply don’t know.”

Completing his cross examination of the duke, Mr Green asked if he was aware of any evidence which gave “any indication whatsoever” that he was being hacked.

Harry replied: “No, that is the … reason why I am here.”

'I have never been known for my silence,' Piers Morgan tells reporters

Piers Morgan told reporters on Wednesday: "I have never been known for my silence," as he was questioned about Prince Harry's claim.

His response follows The Duke of Sussex singling him out in the High Court while giving evidence in his case against the Daily Mirror’s publisher on Tuesday.

On Tuesday, Harry faced nearly five hours of questions from a barrister for MGN, as he became the first senior royal in more than two decades to appear personally in court proceedings.

Morgan admitted he could not say much as the case played out but said he would "not be silent when it's over".

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