Kate Middleton and Prince Harry had their voicemails intercepted by News of the World employees for scoops on the royal family, British prosecutors claimed Thursday.
The Daily Beast reported that it was the first time the now closed News of the World had been directly accused of hacking the phones of the royals. The Sunday tabloid also tapped the phones of royal aides, prosecutors had previously claimed.
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The court heard several private messages to Kate Middleton left by Prince William when they were dating in 2006, one in which he called her the pet name "babykins." Prosecutors told the court the recordings were unearthed during their investigation of News of the World.
The Daily Beast reported in a message left for Prince Harry, Prince William used a falsetto voice to jokingly pretend to be Harry's girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
The Daily Mail reported that in another message left for Kate Middleton, Prince William said: "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."
In earlier testimony, officials had said they discovered 15 royal phone directories inside the home of former News of the World royals correspondent Clive Goodman when his home was raided by police in August 2006. The directories included contacts for the royal family and close friends.
CNN reported Thursday's testimony came in connection with the ongoing trial of former News of the World defendants that include editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson and the newspaper's former managing editor, Stuart Kuttner.
They have denied the charges that from October 2000 and August 2006 they conspired "to intercept communications in the course of their transmission, without lawful authority."
Prosecutors also accused Brooks, her husband, Charlie Brooks, and her former personal assistant Cheryl Carter of conspiring to obstruct the police investigation into phone hacking. Brooks faces additional charges of conspiring with others to commit misconduct in public office.
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