Kate Middleton, Baby Prince George's Mother & Prince William Wife, a 'Target' of Phone Hacking Done by British Journalists
Duchess of Cambridge Kate Middleton is one of many known victims of illegal phone hacking by British journalists, prosecutors told a London jury hearing evidence in the accuser's trial Tuesday.
Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator working for London newspaper News of the World who already has served time for hacking into phones of celebrities, had the royal's name on a handwritten page of potential targets titled "Target Evaluation," USA Today reported.
The "target" list, which included Middleton's husband Prince William and brother-in-law Prince Harry, was among thousands of pages of notes found after Mulcaire was arrested for phone hacking in 2006, according to The Associated Press.
Other names on the list included Helen Asprey, now personal private secretary to Prince Harry; Boris Johnson, now mayor of London; former England soccer team manager Sven-Goran Eriksson and Angelina Jolie's stunt double Eunice Huthart. It has not been confirmed whether or not all those on the list were hacked.
News of the World's royal editor, Clive Goodman, was also arrested in 2006 and charged with hacking the telephones of members of the royal family, according to The Daily Beast. Both Goodman and Mulcaire pleaded guilty to the charges and were sentenced to four and six months imprisonment respectively in 2007. Mulcaire recently pleaded guilty to further hacking charges.
The ongoing trial follows reports in the summer of 2011 by The Guardian newspaper revealing that Rupert Murdoch's tabloid News of the World had for years eavesdropped on the voice mails of celebrities in Britain.
As a result, Murdoch's News Corp. empire took action by firing hundreds of NOTW journalists and apologizing to victims. The company also paid out millions in compensation settlements.
The royal family has not commented on the phone hacking claims at time of publication.
