Prince Harry accuses UK royals of hiding phone hacking from him

LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry has accused his family of withholding information about phone hacking from him to avoid sitting in the witness box and opening "a can of worms", a witness statement released Tuesday said.

The Duke of Sussex made the claim in submissions for a privacy claim he and other celebrities have filed against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers (ANL).

Lawyers for the group, which also includes pop superstar Elton John, claim ANL commissioned the breaking and entry into private property, illegally intercepted voicemail messages and obtained medical records.

The alleged wrongdoing dates from 1993-2011, but some went on as late as 2018, according to their lawyer David Sherborne.

In his partially redacted statement, Harry stated he "became aware that I had a claim that I could bring" only in 2018, in part due to the royal family -- which he refers to as "the Institution".

"The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about... phone hacking," he added.

"That has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation."

The prince went on to state: "The Institution made it clear that we did not need to know anything about phone hacking and it was made clear to me that the Royal Family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms."

The prince, who lives in California, made a surprise appearance at London's High Court on the first two of four days of hearings this week, on Monday alongside John and other figures involved.

'THE BUBBLE BURST'

ANL has described the allegations as "preposterous smears" and an attempt "to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal".

It is trying to end the legal claims by arguing they are "stale" and "based on no credible evidence", so should not go to trial.

A spokesperson for ANL said that Harry "has become a serial litigant against Mail newspapers with whom he seems obsessed".

Britain's phone-hacking scandal, which first blew up in 2006, saw journalists at the Rupert Murdoch-owned News of the World hack into the voicemails of royals, celebrities and murder victims.

It triggered the closure of the mass-selling Sunday tabloid, a mammoth police investigation, a judge-led inquiry and criminal charges that gripped Britain for years.

Harry, the younger son of Britain's King Charles III, has long had a difficult relationship with the media.

In his statement, he said leaving the UK had proved pivotal in bringing the lawsuit.

"It is not an exaggeration to say that the bubble burst in terms of what I knew in 2020 when I moved out of the United Kingdom," the prince stated.

He concluded by arguing he was bringing the claim "because I love my country and I remain deeply concerned by the unchecked power, influence and criminality" of the publisher.

"The British public deserve to know the full extent of this cover up and I feel it is my duty to expose it," he added.

Buckingham Palace declined to comment.

Agence France-Presse

Where’s that royal baby? Is Kate overdue?

LONDON — By the time you’re reading this, the Duchess of Cambridge could be in labor. Or it could be a matter of hours. Or days. Or weeks.

As Britain’s Prince William and his wife, Kate, await the birth of their first child — and the future heir to the English throne — some are convinced the royal due date has already passed, even though Buckingham Palace has not given an exact date. Many in the British media predicted the baby would be born last week and the prince himself is now on official leave.

Dozens of reporters have already staked out the central London hospital where Kate is expected to give birth. The palace has said only that the Duchess is due to deliver the baby in “mid-July.”

But experts say there’s no reason to think that the baby is actually overdue; due dates are at best an educated guess and come with a margin of error of two to three weeks.

“The baby will come when he or she is ready,” said Janet Fyle, a midwife and professional policy adviser at Britain’s Royal College of Midwives. She said the due date is calculated from the first day of the woman’s last period. Then add seven days, plus nine months. “But nature is the primary determinant (of the due date) and we can’t do anything to change that,” Fyle said.

An ultrasound done around weeks 11 to 12 of the pregnancy can also give women a better idea of when exactly to get the nursery ready, she said. A head measurement at that point is a better indicator of age than later in pregnancy.

For healthy pregnant women, as the Duchess of Cambridge appears to be, Fyle said they shouldn’t worry if they haven’t given birth by their predicted due date. Many things can delay birth, including the baby’s head being in the wrong spot. “It may just take the baby awhile to get into the right position before he or she is ready to come out,” she said.

Normal pregnancies last about 40 weeks, though 3 to 12 percent of women in the U.K. go beyond that term. After 41 to 42 weeks, doctors may consider inducing labor. Doctors or midwives typically induce labor with medications or other methods; it may still take one to two days for contractions to start.

“There is a risk as the pregnancy goes on that the placenta may not work as well,” said Dr. Daghni Rajasingam, a spokeswoman for Britain’s Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists. She said that could compromise the baby’s growth and oxygen supply. For women who don’t want to have an induced labor, even if they are beyond 40 weeks, Rajasingam said extra scans to monitor the baby’s heartbeat and movement would be necessary.

In Britain, about 25 percent of all births are cesarean sections, versus 30 percent in the U.S. In 2011, Britain’s health watchdog decided women should be able to get a C-section on demand under the free health care service, though there is no indication whether the Duchess of Cambridge has requested one in the private wing of the hospital where she is expected to deliver.

Although the Duchess of Cambridge was hospitalized last December for severe morning sickness, Rajasingam said there’s no reason to think she might have a more difficult labor.

Pregnant women are also advised to keep as active as possible even after their due date passes.

Rajasingam also said women having their first baby, as in the case of the Duchess, typically have a longer pregnancy than with subsequent children, though scientists aren’t exactly sure why. “It’s like a racehorse on a track,” she said. “For a horse that hasn’t run the race before, it can take a little bit longer if you’re not used to it,” she said.

source: lifestyle.inquirer.net