A Mail on Sunday editor said she knew the Princess of Wales was pregnant with her and Prince William’s first child before telling the Royal Family, the High Court heard.
Charlotte Griffiths, the editor at large at the Daily Mail, explained she did nothing with the information because she did not want to “cross a line”.
Ms Griffiths was giving evidence in the trial of claims brought forward by Prince Harry and six other claimants suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), alleging they were victims of blagging, phone hacking and other unlawful activity.
ANL has vigorously denied the claims.
Charlotte Griffiths, the editor at large at the Daily Mail, said William told her that Catherine ‘was pregnant’
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On March 10, Ms Griffiths told the court that days before it was announced William and Catherine were expecting their first child, she attended a country house party and told friends the Princess of Wales had morning sickness, so would not be attending.
In her witness statement, Ms Griffiths said: “I draw a line between my professional and own personal social life, as compared to my attending events as a journalist.
“For example, friends invited me to a country weekend in the last week of November, the first weekend of December 2012, which both Prince William and Kate Middleton were also expected to attend.
“William arrived solo on the Friday and explained that Kate was suffering with morning sickness.
The journalist said she kept the information to herself
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“The fact that she was pregnant with their first child would have been big news, and St James’s Palace only confirmed it the following Monday because she had to be admitted to hospital.
“I decided to keep it to myself.
“Geordie (Greig, then editor) found out that I had known and was quite annoyed that I hadn’t reported it to him on the Friday ahead of the palace statement on the Monday as we would have scooped the rest of the press, but it was information I had learned at a private event and that I was attending in a personal capacity so I treated it as such.
“I missed a scoop to maintain my friendships and because I knew where the line was and had decided not to cross it.”
‘William explained Kate had morning sickness’, Ms Griffiths said
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Ms Griffiths also discussed her social interactions with Prince Harry and how she was sent his number on Facebook in 2011 after not initially remembering.
She said: “I do remember that around that date (of the text messages) I had been out at a club night with our mutual friend, Arthur, who then invited me back to his house for an after party.
“He told me that Prince Harry would let me in if I made it there first. The music was loud, and they didn’t hear the doorbell, so Arthur advised me to call and text to be let in.
“That particular night stuck in my mind as I remember it was around the time of the Trooping of the Colour and we all thought it was quite funny that Prince Harry had stayed up all night and said he had to go to that or something related in the morning.”
Ms Griffiths also discussed her social interactions with Prince Harry
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David Sherborne, representing the group against ANL, claimed Ms Griffiths had “invented” the story, which she said was “incorrect”.
She also denied his suggestion that it was another example of her “making up” connections with the Royal Family.
Mr Sherborne claimed that Ms Griffiths employed private investigators who engaged in illegal activities to produce articles in the claim concerning Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley.
The court also heard testimony from David Dillon, the editor of the Mail on Sunday, who began presenting his evidence in the case.
He said: “In over 25 years at the Mail on Sunday, I have never known of anyone hacking or tapping a phone, nor have I ever been asked to, asked anyone else to, or hacked or tapped a phone myself.”
He is due to continue giving evidence on March 11.