{"id":789808,"date":"2026-07-09T19:25:18","date_gmt":"2026-07-09T19:25:18","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/789808\/"},"modified":"2026-07-09T19:25:18","modified_gmt":"2026-07-09T19:25:18","slug":"royal-reporter-hits-back-at-spying-accusations-as-prince-harrys-case-collapses","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/789808\/","title":{"rendered":"Royal reporter hits back at spying accusations as Prince Harry\u2019s case collapses"},"content":{"rendered":"

A journalist accused by Prince Harry<\/a> of illegally spying on him has spoken out, revealing the pair partied together years before his court defeat.<\/p>\n

Former Mail on Sunday Royal Editor Katie Nicholl told Sunrise she was invited into Prince Harry\u2019s social circle during his younger years, insisting the stories at the centre of his failed privacy lawsuit came from legitimate sources rather than illegal information gathering.<\/p>\n

WATCH THE VIDEO ABOVE: Journalist accused by Prince Harry of breaching privacy speaks out<\/p>\n

Know the news with the 7NEWS app: Download today Arrow<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI was at many of these parties with Prince Harry in his young days … Harry invited me into one of his parties, introduced me to all of his friends. He took me right into his inner sanctum,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nicholl said the suggestion she had somehow infiltrated Harry\u2019s inner circle to obtain stories was \u201cludicrous\u201d.<\/p>\n

She clarified she was not referring to Harry\u2019s closest friends, but said members of those wider friendship groups regularly spoke to journalists.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think Prince Harry has been very niave about that idea that no one would ever talk about him. That was simply not the case,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Nicholl also defended the newspaper\u2019s reporting, acknowledging phone hacking had occurred elsewhere in the British media but insisting it was never part of her newsroom.<\/p>\n

\u201cHistorically there was some phone hacking at some newspapers. It didn\u2019t happen at the mail … I spent 17 years on that paper and we did journalism the good old fashion way,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

The comments come after the UK High Court dismissed Prince Harry\u2019s privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers<\/a>, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail, ruling there was insufficient evidence to support allegations of unlawful information gathering.<\/p>\n

Seventeen articles written by Nicholl were cited during the proceedings.<\/p>\n

She said she was one of around 40 journalists prepared to take the witness stand to explain exactly how they sourced their reporting.<\/p>\n

\u201cFor many years now, I\u2019ve had the accusations levelled against me with not a shred of evidence,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do feel vindicated; I also feel that it\u2019s a pretty poor reflection on the British judicial system that it even got to this stage, when you break down the case and look at the absolute lack of evidence from the other side,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Justice Matthew Nicklin dismissed all claims brought by Harry and six other high-profile claimants, including singer Elton John and actor-model Elizabeth Hurley, finding the allegations had not been proven. <\/p>\n

Harry has criticised the ruling as a \u201cwhitewash\u201d but said he was not surprised by the result.<\/p>\n

\u201cHowever, the lengths to which the court has gone to exonerate the Mail is as shocking as it is totally unwarranted,\u201d he said in a joint statement with another claimant, anti\u2011racism activist Doreen Lawrence.<\/p>\n

Associated Newspapers described the ruling as a vindication of its journalists.<\/p>\n

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