The News of the World hacked phones belonging to Kate Middleton, Prince William and Prince Harry more than 200 times, revealing intimate details about their private lives.
Personal messages left by the Duke of Cambridge for his ‘babykins’ future wife also revealed how he was almost shot during an Army exercise.
The future king also ribbed his brother for being ‘ginger’ in a message left on his phone where he adopted a high-pitched voice and pretended to be Harry’s then girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
The habitual hacking led to a number of exclusives for the tabloid, including one claiming that Harry had asked an aide to help him cheat in his Sandhurst exams.
William was also revealed as a keen ‘beagler’ — a form of hunting where rabbits and hares are chased by packs of the dogs — and would would always call Kate ‘baby’ and ‘darling’.
Among the details of voicemails discovered by detectives at the home of private investigator Glenn Mulcaire was another call from William in which he said: ‘My head’s all right. I’ve just picked up your message. Oh, my little babykins! I hope you are all right.
‘I just tried ringing you but I do not think you would pick it up because it is 5.35am in the morning so it is probably not a very good time to ring you. I hope you are all right.’
In another message William says: ‘Hello baby, it’s me. Sorry I did not ring you earlier and tell you what I was doing. Been a bit of a nightmare day. I think I would just about be finished in a minute.
‘It has just gone six but I don’t think I will be able to leave here till about seven. I have got stuff here to do, bits and pieces, but I should be able to leave at about seven at the least. Crack on with what you have got to do and don’t worry about me. I will give you a buzz later.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis QC read the Old Bailey transcripts of the voice recordings – made in 2006 – which were discovered by detectives investigating hacking allegations. In one, William started by saying: ‘Hi baby’, adding: ‘Had a busy day today again.
‘I’ve been running around the woods of Aldershot chasing shadows and getting terribly lost, and I walked into some other regiment’s ambush, which was slightly embarrassing because I nearly got shot. Not by live rounds but by blank rounds, which would be very embarrassing though.
‘Um, er, yeah, I’m off on exercise tomorrow morning, just for the day, and then I’m back on Saturday first thing, erm, so I probably won’t be able to speak to you tomorrow night.’
He then told her he might send her ‘a cheeky text message’ because he might have his phone with him, before signing off: ‘All right, baby, lots of love, um, speak to you soon. Bye bye.’
In another call, William talks of wanting to go on a drag hunt with beagles: ‘Hi honey, it’s me. I’m back in the small land of Sandhurst. A couple of pretty nasty days on exercise. Decided to just enjoy them. I am feeling a bit s***** at the moment but hope you are OK. Lovely to speak to you…
‘You are probably very busy working but if there is any chance you are free, maybe later this afternoon or evening, I might be able to get out. I am going to try and go out beagling again and then come to you afterwards.
‘So if you are around at home this evening I would love to see you. Let me know. Give me a text or ring back. I am around about the rest of the day.’
Kate Middleton was hacked the most, 155 times including at least once on Christmas Day 2005 — almost six years before she married. William was hacked 35 times and Harry’s nine times.
NotW editor Clive Goodman admitted Kate was targeted because she ‘was a figure of increasing importance around the Royal Family’ and was already ‘settling down’ with the heir to the throne.
Her name also appeared on a list kept by the paper’s £100,000-a-year hacker Glenn Mulcaire, scribbled on lined paper alongside Boris Johnson, Max Clifford and Sven-Goran Eriksson.
Prince Harry’s voicemail was also intercepted, the phone-hacking trial was told, but several stories also came from the hacking of his aides or associates.
A message pleading for help with an essay was left on the mobile phone of his private secretary, Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton. In a transcript read to the court, the Prince is heard asking the former SAS major for help in writing an essay about the Iranian Embassy siege in London in 1980.
He said: ‘I just need some information. I have got most of the stuff but if you have got any extra information or websites that you knew of, please, please, please email it me or text me but I’ll try to ring you again later.’
A hacked Lowther-Pinkerton voicemail also revealed Prince William was booted out of an Army party for ‘braying Hooray Henry’ antics in front of horrified guests, the court heard.
Goodman also said Kate Middleton shunned the party and did not get on with Harry’s then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
Prosecutor Andrew Edis QC introduced the email alongside a hacked message recovered by police from royal aide Jamie Lowther-Pinkerton left by Sandhurst commandant Major General Andrew Ritchie referring to an ‘incident at the ball’.
Goodman wrote: ‘William and his group were massively drunk and upsetting other guests with their braying Hooray Henry antics. One of his friends was strutting around the hall pretending to be a brigadier… William himself was sent upstairs to bed before the ball ended.’
A story containing large parts of Goodman’s claims appeared on April 16, 2006, under the headline ‘So silly Willy’, the court heard, Daily Mail informs.
