Daily Mail journalist denies seeking Prince Harry flight details

The royal editor of the Daily Mail, Rebecca English, has denied allegations that she requested sensitive flight information about the Duke of Sussex’s overseas trips with girlfriends from a freelance journalist based in South Africa. The High Court case addressing claims of unlawful information gathering by the newspaper revealed email exchanges between English and Mike Behr, the freelancer who supplied stories and details to British media outlets.

Prince Harry has accused Behr of “blagging” confidential flight details from airlines. English maintained that a December 2007 article about the prince vacationing with Chelsy Davy was sourced from students at Leeds University, where Davy was attending. Multiple newspapers appeared to have reported similar information, but English argued the data did not come from Behr or any illicit means. She insisted she neither asked Behr for flight data nor incorporated such information into her stories.

In court, English described having a difficult working relationship with Behr, stating, “You don’t understand the lived experience of a woman working in this business and the men who are difficult to deal with.” She also explained that details for a 2004 piece about Prince Harry’s romantic moments around a campfire in Botswana, titled “How Harry fell in love,” came from someone present at the event. According to English, the information was relayed via her colleague Sam Greenhill, who had been contacted by a person at the campfire once news of Harry’s relationship broke.

Prince Harry testified last month, asserting that those around the campfire would not have volunteered information to the press. While the newspaper’s legal team suggested journalists could only have known of Harry’s remarks if someone chose to share those details, the duke believed the information was likely obtained from a voicemail or similar communication. English further recounted writing a 2013 story about Harry’s isolated New Year’s Eve away from then-girlfriend Cressida Bonas after the palace denied reports of Bonas visiting Sandringham. Emails shown in court from Behr detailed Harry’s flight movements, which the duke’s lawyer argued demonstrated unlawful acquisition of data. English refuted these claims, explaining her knowledge stemmed from the charity organizing a walk Harry participated in prior to returning home. When questioned about a 2002 story on Elizabeth Hurley’s pregnancy, she stated that as a junior reporter at the time, she relied on information provided by other reporters rather than original sources

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