Harry on Tuesday will become the first royal in 130 years to testify in a British court to continue his battle against the tabloids. This hearing is against the Mirror, the pro-Labour tabloid, and the first before attacking The Sun and the Daily Mail.
But the Duke of Sussex did not take part in Monday's hearing to the small surprise and obvious fury of Judge Fancourt, who was waiting for him at the opening of his case.
He had been traveling from Los Angeles to London since Sunday night, where he celebrated the birthday of his youngest daughter, Princess Lilibet. He will participate, testify and be questioned by both sides Tuesday in court.
Dozens of photographers, journalists and cameramen waited without luck for the prince. Photo: EFE
The lawyer said Harry was travelling to court and will testify on Tuesday. He could not be present at the start of the trial because they had to arrange his security. Dozens of photographers, journalists and cameramen waited fruitlessly.
No one knows where the prince will stay. His house of Frogmore Cottage in Windsor was requisitioned by King Charles III, his father, although it had been a gift from Queen Elizabeth II for the marriage.
The king took the house from her after Harry attacked the current Queen Camilla in his memoir "Spare".
David Sherborne, Harry's lawyer, on Monday in court in London. Photo: EFE
The prince flew to the kingdom accompanied by his security and at noon on Monday it was estimated that he had already landed in the kingdom. But he does not have armed security, as he demands, from Scotland Yard but his own.
The journalists mentioned in Harry's case are those who were named in a similar case, in 2015. The main defendant is Piers Morgan, former editor of the Mirror, who detests Harry and Meghan.
They listened to him since they were 11 years old.
The prince's lawyer, David Sherborne, said Harry was 11 years old when the first illegal activity was initiated against him. His parents had divorced and his mother, Princess Diana, visited him at school in 1995.
Sherborne told the court that Mirror journalists were listening to Princess Diana's phone and messages. They tried it because Diana was accompanying actor Michael Barrymore in his battle with drugs and the newspaper listened to the exchanges.
The main defendant is Piers Morgan, former editor of the Mirror, who detests Harry and Meghan. Photo: AP
"Explosive evidence" is to be heard from Prince Harry, including a letter from his mother, Princess Diana, to the CEO of the Mirror, revealing that journalists had discovered their secret meeting with him.
The Mirror's lawyers were furious at Harry's absence on the first day of the trial. But the judge promised extra time for Tuesday's questioning.
Harry's lawyer opened the trial by recalling that the information about Harry, illegally collected, extends from 1999 to 2006.
Harry's lawyer opened the trial by recalling that the information about Harry, illegally collected, extends from 1999 to 2006. Photo: AP
"The end justifies the means for the Mirror group," the lawyer said. He recalled that there are 33 articles that involve him and there are 147 that the prince protested. But they are barely a fraction of the 2500 articles published about the Royals in that period.
Sherbone said witnesses are being intimidated outside the courtroom.
Harry's Testimony
The Duke of Sussex will relive details of the romances he had before marrying Meghan as he becomes the first royal to testify in court in 130 years.
Harry blames the newspapers for "huge bouts of depression and paranoia", which resulted in the breakdown of his relationship with Chelsy Davy. Photo: AFP
Harry is suing the editor of the Daily Mirror, alleging he was the victim of illegal information gathering along with his brother, the Prince of Wales, his mother, Diana, and his father, the King.
The duke blames the newspapers' alleged activities for "huge bouts of depression and paranoia", which resulted in the breakdown of his relationship with Chelsy Davy, 37, whom he met when she was still at school.
The alleged media intrusion "led Ms. Davy to make the decision that 'a real life was not for her,' which was 'incredibly upsetting' for Harry at the time," he claimed.
The alleged media intrusion "led Davy to make the decision that a real life was not for her." Photo: AP
This is one of six cases Harry has brought against the media and government in Britain. He attended the High Court in March for a preliminary hearing, in his separate lawsuit against the editor of the Daily Mail.
U.S. Visa Problems
But the Duke of Sussex has another problem. In the United States, Harry's visa has been left in the hands of conservatives and the right-wing Heritage Foundation.
A group of conservative experts will argue in a Washington, D.C., court this week that the U.S. government "should open the immigration file" on Harry, in light of revelations in his memoir, Spare, about past drug use.
The cover of the book Spare, Harry's memoirs. Photo: OSCAR DEL POZO / AFP
Harry, 38, resigned as a hard-working royal. He now lives in California with the Duchess of Sussex, 41, and their children, Archie, 4, and Lilibet, who celebrated her second birthday on Sunday.
The allegations
The duke alleges he was the victim of voicemail hacking, "blagging" (obtaining private information through deception) and investigations by private investigators. It claims that around 140 articles, published between 1996 and 2010, contained information collected using illegal methods.
Of these, 33 have been selected to be considered in the trial with headlines, including "Harry's Cocaine, Ecstasy and GHB Parties," "Harry Is a Chelsy Fan," "Harry's Girl 'to Quit'" and "He Just Loves to Drink & Army. She's fed up and is heading home."
The leaks of the royal house
Andrew Green, KC, representing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), told the court that many of the stories published about the prince "came from information released by or on behalf of royal houses or members of the royal family."
That is another problem. To maintain the monarchy, the king, his son Prince William and Queen Camilla have a good relationship with the tabloids to get their survival and image, without informing Harry. He denounced it in his book Spare. He said Camila leaked information about him to the tabloids to recover her reputation, her image and to be able to marry her father and called her "dangerous".
The duke is expected to be questioned about his relationship with former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, who is allegedly "at the centre" of allegations of alleged hacking and use of private investigators.
How Morgan found out
The court was told that Morgan enjoyed "drinking sessions" with Mark Bolland, who was at the time the King's spokesman.
Piers Morgan, 58, an Eton alumnus, has denied involvement in the hacking. He criticised Harry for having "spent the last three years cynically and ruthlessly invading the privacy of the royal family for huge commercial gain and telling a bunch of lies about them".
MGN admits that the Sunday People paid a private investigator £75 to gather information about Harry's conduct at Chinawhite, a celebrity nightclub in Soho, central London, in 2004. He says he is entitled to compensation. But "notably" he hasn't made a claim about the article.
The court case is held in the Rolls building, which was opened by Queen Elizabeth in 2011, where the court operates.
First in the royal family
Harry will become the first senior royal to testify in court since the 1890s Baccarat scandal, when a card player, accused of cheating on the Prince of Wales, later Edward VII, filed a libel suit.
In 2002, the Princess Royal was charged under the Dangerous Dogs Act after two children were bitten in Windsor Grand Park. She pleaded guilty, so she did not testify.
Coronation Street actors Michael Turner, who plays Kevin Webster, and Nikki Sanderson, who plays Candice Stowe, and Fiona Wightman, the ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse, are named as "representative" cases for the seven-week trial.
MGN says board members at the time denied any knowledge of such activities. They claim that "there is no evidence, or insufficient evidence, of voicemail interception" in any of the four claims.
Harry is not comparable
The Mirror will say that the case is time-barred. But behind it is the Royal Family's agreement with the tabloids, of which Harry was never informed.
Prince William was secretly paid millions for clandestinely recording it. He never told Harry. His father, King and Queen Camilla encourage this arrangement for the monarchy to survive. An idea that infuriates Princess Diana's son, who believes she died because of that persecution.
Harry can't be bought. He is on a crusade against the tabloids, which he wants to break because they destroyed his life.
Paris, correspondent
ap
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