Diana Leaked Royal Phone Book, Says Ex-Editor

Another shocker from Britain's phone-hacking trial: Former News of the World royal editor Clive Goodman says a palace phone book in his possession came not from corrupt cops but from an angry princess. Goodman yesterday told the court that Princess Diana gave him the book in 1992 because she wanted the press as an ally in her bitter split from Prince Charles, reports the BBC. He says the princess sent the royal directory to his office and later called to make sure he had received it.

"She was at the time going through a very tough time. She told me she wanted me to see this document to see the scale of her husband's staff and household compared to hers," Goodman told the court. "She felt she was in a very bitter situation at the time. She felt she was being swamped by the people close to him and his household. She was looking for an ally to take him on to show the kind of forces ranged against her." Some 15 such royal directories were found in Goodman's home, but the editor—who spent time in prison in 2007 for phone-hacking—denies that he paid royal protection officers for any of them, the Telegraph notes. (More Princess of Wales stories.)