Prince Harry's "most intimate and private revelations" may be used against him in court.
The Duke of Sussex is among a group of high-profile figures, including Sir Elton John, who have brought legal action against Associated Newspapers (The publisher of Daily Mail).
In Associated Newspapers written defence, which was made public on Wednesday, Andrew Caldecott KC and Adrian Beltrami KC said Harry's case was "without foundation and is an affront to the hard-working professional journalists whose reputations and integrity, as well as that of Associated itself, are wrongly traduced."
It was also highlighted that the Duke of Sussex has provided the media with "private information about himself".
Prince Harry's "most intimate and private revelations" may be used against him in court.
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They added: "The claimant also revealed the most intimate and private matters about himself (as well as his wife and his wider family) in his autobiography, Spare, published in 2023 and, similarly, in interviews given to Tom Bradby and Oprah Winfrey in October 2019, March 2021 and January 2023.
"Associated reserves the right to refer to further such examples following disclosure."
In the documents setting out Harry's claim, 70 current or former journalists who have worked for Associated Newspapers have been named, according to the Telegraph.
The publisher said the Duke of Sussex's case was "replete with sweeping allegations of serious criminal conduct which lack even the most basic of particulars".
In the documents setting out Harry's claim, 70 current or former journalists who have worked for Associated Newspapers have been named.
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It continued: "It is denied that Associated’s journalists widely and habitually carried out, or commissioned the carrying out of, illegal or unlawful information gathering activities."
The legal claims are still in the preliminary stages and no findings have been made in the case.
An Associated Newspaper spokesperson said in a statement: "In papers submitted to the High Court, the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday denied under oath that its journalists had commissioned or obtained information derived from phone hacking, phone tapping, bugging, computer or email hacking, or burglary to order.
"Associated also denied claims made by Prince Harry and Baroness Lawrence that it commissioned private investigators Gavin Burrows and Jonathan Rees, as well as claims by Sir Simon Hughes that it commissioned convicted phone hacker Glenn Mulcaire.
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The legal claims are still in the preliminary stages and no findings have been made in the case.
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"Indeed, it is highly significant that Gavin Burrows has retracted a statement he allegedly gave to the claimants, on which their case appears to be based.
"The publisher stands by its previous statements that the claims are preposterous and without foundation, and says in its defence submission that the case brought by the prince and others is ‘an affront to the hard-working journalists whose reputations and integrity, as well as those of Associated itself, are wrongly traduced’.
"It says that the stories concerned, many of which were published 20 or more years ago, and not subject to any complaint at the time, were the product of responsible journalism based on legitimate sources."
