At the commencement of a trial involving alleged phone hacking, the publisher of the Mirror has apologized to Prince Harry for unlawful information gathering.

Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) stated that it will never happen again.

Lawyers for Harry testified in court that he was subjected to the “most intrusive methods of obtaining personal information.”

Harry is one of several high-profile individuals who have filed claims against MGN.

Lawyers claim that executives at the corporation were aware of widespread phone hacking but did nothing.

MGN, which also publishes the Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, said in a written filing that it “unreservedly apologises” for instances of improper information collecting against Harry and others, and that the prince’s legal case “warrants compensation.”

However, Andrew Green KC, the publisher’s attorney, stated that the publisher refuted allegations of voicemail interception in the cases under consideration during the trial.

The barrister also stated that several of the difficulties it is facing have gone past the legal time limit.

According to a prior hearing, Harry’s contention is that 148 articles published between 1996 and 2010 included material allegedly obtained through tactics such as phone hacking.

Prince Harry is scheduled to testify in court in June, making him the first senior royal to do so in modern times, with the High Court hearing estimated to last six or seven weeks.

The estates of late singer George Michael and actor Ricky Tomlinson have also filed claims against MGN, with “test cases” – including Harry’s – chosen from a larger group of claimants to proceed to trial.

The trials of former Coronation Street actress Nikki Sanderson, comedian Paul Whitehouse’s ex-wife Fiona Wightman, and actor Michael Turner are the other “representative” cases scheduled.