Courtroom Chaos: Prince Harry Publicly Backs Elizabeth Hurley — After Exiled Royal's Emotional Testimony About Wife Meghan Markle's 'Misery'
Jan. 22 2026, Published 5:25 p.m. ET
In a surprise move, Prince Harry remained in London to support one of his celebrity co-plaintiffs in their lawsuit against a British tabloid, RadarOnline.com can reveal.
One day after giving his own testimony, Harry, 41, was in court on Thursday, January 22, to hear Elizabeth Hurley take the stand in their case against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
'A Business of Unpleasantness'
Elizabeth Hurley's son, Damian, accompanied his mom to court.
Hurley testified she hadn't complained about roughly 15 articles spanning a nine-year period, starting in 2002, because "they were in essence true."
"I believe that is because people were listening to me speak," she told the court about insisting that her phone lines were tapped.
The actress continued, "There were so many deeply hurtful and damaging articles about me in the media. It became just a business of unpleasantness."
Hurley then revealed, "Yes, there were leaks, but they were not from my friends," regarding the stories published about her.
Prince Harry Testified One Day Earlier Than Scheduled
Prince Harry gave a thumbs up sign to awaiting paparazzi when arriving at court.
Harry may have been stuck in London for an extra day, as he was due to give his testimony when Hurley was delivering hers to the court.
However, Associated Newspapers threw a major curveball with a brief opening argument that moved up the plaintiffs' timeline to take the stand, and Harry appeared on Wednesday, January 21, one day earlier than scheduled.
Some speculated it may have been a calculated move on the defense's part to catch the prince off guard and prevent him from getting last-minute prep time he could have had ahead of the original Thursday testimony.
As a result, Harry found himself giving several vague answers, seeming unprepared, tearing up with emotion at one point, and being admonished by the judge for arguing with the defense's attorney.
'My Wife!'
Even though Harry hadn't met Meghan Markle during the timeline of the alleged phone tapping, he brought her up in testimony anyway.
Even though Harry is suing over 14 articles published between 2001 and 2013 that he claims included details obtained through unlawful information gathering, he also brought up his wife, , whom he didn't meet until 2016.
"By standing up here and taking a stand against them, this has continued to come after me," Harry emotionally stated while welling up. "And they have made my wife’s life an absolute misery, my Lord."
The prince and his wife repeatedly claimed negative coverage by the British tabloids was one of several reasons they quit the royal family and moved to the United States, although their primary reason was to seek "financial independence."
The Duke of Sussex also took umbrage that his friends may have been the source of leaks about him to the Daily Mail rather than illegal information gathering, declaring, "My social circles were not leaky."
Prince Harry's Family Keep Their Distance During His UK Visit
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Prince William looked on as the sporty Princess of Wales tried her hand at curling while in Scotland for a royal engagement.
Friendless and family-free, Harry had plenty of time to hang out in court as his relatives did their best to avoid the wayward prince during his return to the UK.
His father, King Charles III, was in Scotland for the week, while his estranged brother, Prince William, was also in the north of the UK.
William and his wife, Kate Middleton, paid a visit to the National Curling Academy in Stirling, Scotland, to meet Team GB ahead of the 2026 Winter Olympics next month.
On the day of what was supposed to be Harry's testimony, where Hurley took the stand instead, the Prince of Wales had two royal engagements scheduled in Bristol, England, keeping him far away from London.
