Names and faces
■ Prince Harry claimed Thursday that the publisher of The Sun tabloid unlawfully intercepted phone calls of his late mother, Princess Diana, and father, now King Charles III, as he sought to expand his privacy invasion lawsuit against News Group Newspapers. The Duke of Sussex has asked a High Court judge to allow the new claims to be added to his ongoing litigation after evidence surfaced largely through materials turned over by News Group Newspapers, a subsidiary of the media empire built by Rupert Murdoch, his attorney said. Attorney David Sherborne said the eavesdropping on Diana, her then-estranged husband, Charles, and his then paramour, Camilla Parker Bowles, revealed private information about Harry as early as age 9. Diana was suspicious she was being followed and her calls were being listened to, the amended complaint said. Articles in The Sun and now-defunct News of the World referred to conversations Diana had with close confidants and show that journalists and paparazzi had inside knowledge where she was going to be. The new claims in Harry’s case follow claims his attorney raised Wednesday that implicated Murdoch for taking part in the cover-up of unlawful information gathering at his newspapers or he had “at the very least turned a blind eye” to it. News Group Newspapers said Wednesday in a statement the new claims amounted to “unjustified inferences in a scurrilous and cynical attack” on former journalists, staff and senior executives at News International, now News UK — the parent of News Group Newspapers.
■ Jonathan Majors’ ex-girlfriend sued him Tuesday on civil claims including assault, battery, defamation and infliction of emotional distress, three months after the actor was convicted in a criminal trial of assaulting her in New York. Grace Jabbari, a 31-year-old British dancer, filed the action in federal court in Manhattan, claiming Majors subjected her to escalating incidents of physical and verbal abuse from 2021-23. “This action will shed light on the truth,” Jabbari’s lawyer, Brittany Henderson, said in an email to The Associated Press. Majors, 34, maintained his innocence during the criminal case. A Manhattan jury convicted him in December of one misdemeanor assault charge and one harassment violation stemming from a confrontation with Jabbari the previous March. Sentencing is set for April 8. Priya Chaudhry, Majors’ attorney in the criminal case, said in an emailed statement the lawsuit “is no surprise. Mr. Majors is preparing counterclaims against Ms. Jabbari.” She did not elaborate. The new lawsuit also accuses Majors of defamation and malicious prosecution. The lawsuit says Jabbari is seeking at least $75,000 in damages and other costs.