Prince Harry‘s court testimony has contained a lot of juicy tidbits and bombshell accusations, but one more subtle aspect has royal fans on Twitter in a tizzy—and it has to do with something as simple as the usage of royal titles.
In Harry’s 55-page witness statement for his phone hacking case, there seems to be an error regarding his father Charles’ royal title: in the statement, Harry calls him “HRH (His Royal Highness) King Charles III.” The “HRH” was Charles’ previous title; now, as monarch, he should be referred to has “His Majesty“…and royal watchers are wondering if this was an “intentional” flub.
It’s interesting that Prince Harry referred to the King incorrectly as ‘His Royal Highness’ not ‘His Majesty’
Intentional?
— Alex Horden (@AlexHorden1) June 6, 2023
Fans Comment: ‘Not A Mistake’
Royal fans are speculating what the usage of Charles’ previous title means within Harry’s testimony, especially since, as one Twitter user put it, “you’d think someone who grew up in the Royal Family might know” which reference should be used:
Minor in the scheme of things, but odd no one proof reading the witness statement picked up that #PrinceHarry referred to his father as “His Royal Highness” King Charles, not His Majesty King Charles which you’d think someone who grew up in the Royal Family might know pic.twitter.com/BovqOIzUjI
— Chris Ship (@chrisshipitv) June 6, 2023
So why would the Prince make such a “mistake”? Well, it could be due to confusion on how his father should be referenced within the trial—though Charles is now “His Majesty” after being crowned monarch, during the “relevant period” referred to in the trial from 1996 to 2010, Charles was still Prince of Wales and as such, was titled “His Royal Highness”. However, Harry did refer to his brother William in the statement by his current title, “HRH The Prince of Wales, my brother.”
Though some Twitter conspiracy theorists speculated that perhaps the statement was "written by her (wife Meghan Markle)" and that would explain the discrepancies, the Duke of Sussex swore under oath that the entire witness statement was penned by himself.
If this was truly written by Prince Harry, then he's already forgotten the title that his father actually holds. It is "His Majesty" and not "His Royal Highness" I've added the link of the full statement in the first tweet of this thread.#HarryandMeghanAreAJoke #DumbPrince pic.twitter.com/zCpixSJx7L
— Kat (@katchatlaw) June 6, 2023
#PrinceHarry just referred to his father as “His Royal Highness” King Charles, not His Majesty King Charles. Not a mistake. Any more than the uncrowned stamps.
— Jessica Adams (@jessicacadams) June 6, 2023
Harry's Statement Accuses British Tabloids Of 'Unlawful Information Gathering'
Other notable mentions in the witness statement include the Prince's main accusation that, throughout his life and especially in the time period in question, "tabloids would routinely publish articles about me that were often wrong but interspersed with snippets of truth, which I now think were most likely gleaned from voicemail interception and/or unlawful information gathering."
Prince Harry continued, "I genuinely feel that in every relationship that I’ve ever had — be that with friends, girlfriends, with family or with the army, there’s always been a third party involved, namely the tabloid press. Having seen me grow up from a baby (being born into this 'contractual relationship' without any choice) and scrutinized my every move, the tabloids have known the challenges and mental health struggles that I have had to deal with throughout my childhood and adult life and for them to then play on that and use it to their own advantage, I think is, well, criminal."
The Duke of Sussex is just one of over a hundred people suing Mirror Group Newspapers for alleged illegal story-gathering activities between 1991 and 2022, with Harry partaking as one of four representative claimants whose cases were selected for trial. The case is expected to last another few weeks.
