Kate Middleton’s voicemails hacked

The phone hacking trials in Britain revealed that voicemails left for Kate Middleton by her then boyfriend Prince William were hacked by the top UK newspaper News of the World. In one message William used the pet name “babykins” and in another told her he had almost been shot with blanks. Prince William was undergoing officer training in 2006 when he said he “nearly got shot” with blank rounds during a training exercise. When the story was reported in the NoW, the paper said the prince had been shot with blanks, even though this did not actually happen. Former NoW editors Rebekah Brooks and Andy Coulson with then royal editor Clive Goodman and four others are charged with conspiracy to illegally intercept voicemails among other offences. They all deny the accusations. News of the World was among the highest circulating newspapers at the time of its closure. The paper is owned by Rupert Murdoch’s media firm.

Read the full story on BBC.