Prince Harry’s claims of being ‘bugged’ and monitored with ‘tracking devices’ dismissed by judge

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA: Prince Harry's legal battle against The Sun has taken another dramatic turn as a High Court judge dismissed his claims of being monitored by "bugging" and "tracking" devices.

In a ruling that raises questions about the validity of his long-running allegations, Justice Timothy Fancourt highlighted Harry's lack of specific details to support his assertions. 

To provide context, the Duke of Sussex, along with approximately 40 other claimants, allege that their personal information was unlawfully obtained by the publication.

Prince Harry denied permission to claim he was 'bugged'

Justice Timothy Fancourt noted that Prince Harry provided "no particulars whatsoever" to substantiate his long-running claims against the publication.

While a trial is scheduled for January, the judge issued a preliminary ruling on Friday, October 4, denying Harry permission to include certain allegations in his case. The duke had already withdrawn a claim regarding the alleged bugging of his former girlfriend Chelsy Davy's car.

In the latest version of Harry's "particulars of claim"—a legal document detailing his allegations—Justice Fancourt described the accusations as "generalized" regarding bugging.

He stated in a written judgment: "No particulars are provided about bugging, and a previous specific allegation in relation to Chelsy Davy's car has been withdrawn."

He added, "Permission is refused for the allegations of planting bugs in rooms and residences and bugs or tracking devices on cars, as no particulars whatsoever of such allegations have been provided."

The judge also denied Harry permission to add phrases like "and/or the use of listening and tracking devices" to his claim, citing the lack of specific details, as per DailyMail.

Prince Harry's phone hacking claims dismissed in 2023

This follows Justice Timothy Fancourt's dismissal of Prince Harry's phone hacking claims last year, as the duke had delayed initiating his legal action for too long. Harry argued that a "secret agreement" with Buckingham Palace prevented him from acting sooner, but the judge deemed such a claim "implausible".

The 40-year-old duke, who began this case in 2019, can still proceed to trial based on other forms of unlawful information gathering he alleges.

During the recent trial, the judge characterized the ongoing case as resembling a conflict between "two obdurate but well-resourced armies" that is consuming "more than an appropriate" amount of court resources. 

He remarked, "I have previously indicated to the parties that this individual claim... although it raises important issues, it is starting to absorb more than an appropriate share of the court's resources, contrary to the requirement in the overriding objective to deal with cases justly and at proportionate cost."

The judge emphasized, "The claim at times resembles more an entrenched front in a campaign between two obdurate but well-resourced armies than a claim for misuse of private information."

While he permitted Harry's legal team to make certain amendments to the case, he upheld some of the publisher's objections.

However, he also rejected some of The Sun's objections, arguing it was unreasonable to expect Harry to provide further details when he claims the newspaper has been concealing them.

Justice Fancourt warned the trial in January must either proceed or be settled out of court, and it will not be delayed any further.