‘RUTHLESS’

Tabloid PI Tried to Find Out if Prince Harry’s Ex-Girlfriend Had an Abortion and ‘Sexual Diseases’

Asked if Harry dating Chelsy Davy had “opened up a lucrative new avenue” for him, the PI, Gavin Burrows, who said he was “into my cocaine” at the time, replied, “Oh very much so.”

A British private investigator working for the publishers of the Sun and the former News of the World has told a BBC documentary that he tried to find out if Prince Harry’s former girlfriend Chelsy Davy had ever had an abortion or had any “sexual diseases.”

In the documentary, entitled The Princes and the Press, BBC media editor Amol Rajan pointed out that Gavin Burrows “is now providing evidence in the legal actions against the publisher of the News of the World and the Sun” and added that “his claims are strongly disputed by them.” (The Daily Beast has sought comment from News Corp, the owner of News UK, the current name of the publisher of the titles.)

BATTLE LINES

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The documentary attracted attention after it was reported that the offices of the queen, Prince Charles, and Prince William had threatened to boycott the BBC, allegedly because they were angered by claims in the documentary that their offices actively briefed against Prince Harry and Meghan, planting negative stories in the press about them.

There were only passing references to briefing wars in tonight’s episode. It has been reported that the second part of the documentary to be broadcast next week will make more incendiary claims.

However Burrows’ admission of the depths he had stooped to in his efforts to uncover details about Harry’s life, including investigating the intimate details of Chelsy Davy’s life, were truly shocking.

Asked if Harry dating Chelsy had “opened up a lucrative new avenue” for him, Burrows, who said he was “into my cocaine” at the time, replied, “Oh very much so. There was a lot of voicemail hacking going on, there was a lot of surveillance work on Chelsy Davy on her phones, on her comms. Chelsy would brag to her friends when she was going to see him,” he said.

Rajan asked, “So her life became an object of obsession for you guys as well?”

Burrows replied: “Yes. Medical records, had she had an abortion, sexual diseases, ex boyfriends—vet them, check them—education.”

Asked what he would say to Davy, Burrows replied: “Oh, I am very sorry…my actions were ruthless.”

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Tom SykesEuropean Editor at Large

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