Clive Goodman, the former royals editor of London's News of the World, confessed he hacked Kate Middleton’s phone 155 times, Prince William’s 35 times and Prince Harry’s phone 9 times.

Goodman returned to trial on Wednesday after being absent for a handful of weeks due to illness. Currently on trial for charges of bribing public officials, Goodman was first arrested in 2006 for charges of illegal hacking, but had never before admitted to directly spying on royals. He had previously only admitted to hacking into the phones of aides working for the Royal Family: two aides to Prince Charles as well as a private secretary for Prince Harry and Prince William.

Goodman Admits To Hacking Prince William's Phone

On the stand, Goodman claimed that he had never mentioned hacking Middleton in 2006 because he had forgotten the exact details of who exactly he had hacked. Cross-examiner Timothy Langdale, lawyer for another former News of the World editor Andy Coulson, found shocking, saying, “Had you really forgotten that you had been hacking him [Prince William].”

Goodman responded that he “didn’t recall specifics.”

Goodman also stated that he had not lied about the extent of his hacking, earlier in the trial or during his 2006 arrest. Instead, he maintained that the police had simply never asked him a direct question about it

“I’ve never been asked before. The Metropolitan Police, Crown Prosecution Service did not ask me these questions in 2006 and 2007. I’ve never been asked by any inquiry any time about this,” Goodman testified.

Kate Middleton's Phone Was Hacked 155 Times

Goodman told the jury that he hacked Middleton’s phone for the first time in December of 2005 and did not escalate to hacking Prince William’s phone until January 2006, during which time, Goodman explained, “[Middleton] was a figure of increasing importance around the Royal Family.”

Proving the hacking, the jury was played a short recording of voicemails left by Prince William for Middleton at the time. Goodman said that he hacked Middleton's phone 155 times, the last time being on August 7, 2006, just before he was arrested.

Goodman revealed that he had been assured by prosecution that he would face no additional charges of hacking, and so felt free to expand on his unlawful conduct regarding hacking for News of the World.

“Now that you are asking them [the right questions], I’m quite happy to get them out there and get everything in the open,” Goodman said.

Though Goodman admitted to participating in the hacking, he also insisted that everything the paper printed at the time went through private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, believed to be responsible for the bulk of the News of the World’s hacking.

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Article by Olivia Truffaut-Wong

Olivia Truffaut-Wong was born and raised in Berkeley, California, where she developed her love of all things entertainment. After moving to New York City to earn her degree in Film Studies, she stayed on the East Coast to follow her passion and become an entertainment writer. She lives on a diet of television, movies and food.