Elton John has ‘paternal and protective’ friendship with Prince Harry | Celebrity News | Showbiz & TV

Sir Elton John, 76, and his husband, David Furnish, 60, feel “paternal and protective” toward Prince Harry, the latter has revealed.

The pop superstar and his filmmaker other half are part of a group of people – which includes actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley – bringing claims over allegations Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) completed or commissioned illegal or unlawful information-gathering.

The news outlet has denied the allegations, which include the hiring of private people to place listening devices.

A witness statement by David, which was released on Tuesday, gave an insight into his and Sir Elton’s friendship with the Duke of Sussex.

David said: “Our friendship with Prince Harry is very close and, just as it is with Elizabeth (Hurley), paternal and protective.

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“Elton and I were great friends with his mother, who we loved dearly, and when she passed we wanted to do everything we could to give him safety and security, a space of confidence and protection.

“It has deeply upset Elton and I that our intentions were used against us and that the confidence and trust Harry placed in us was exploited and abused by The Mail’s callous activities,” he added.

The statement comes as Prince Harry said “I love my country” in a court witness statement, whilst stating his reasoning for seeking “justice” in person at the High Court in London.

Sir Elton John also joined Prince Harry in court on Monday.

The Telegraph’s royal correspondent Victoria Ward took to Twitter to write about Harry’s witness statement.

Quoting Harry, she wrote: “If the most influential newspaper company can successfully evade justice, then in my opinion the whole country is doomed.”

She added: “[Harry] says he is bringing the claim against ANL because ‘I love my country and I remain deeply concerned by the unchecked power, influence and criminality of Associated.

“Harry says lawyers kept info about phone hacking at the NoTW [News of The World] from him and William.

Again, quoting Harry, she wrote: “The Institution made clear we did not need to know anything about hacking and it was made clear to me that the Royal Family did not sit in the witness box because that could open up a can of worms”.

In his statement, Harry also claimed that “without a doubt” the institution was “withholding information” about the phone hacking.

He added that this “only become clear in recent years”, following years of taking different “legal advice and representation”.

The publisher denies all claims made against them.