For the first time in more than a century, a "royal" at the helm of a British court. Prince Harry is expected this week in London in a trial against a tabloid that he accuses, along with other personalities, of having gathered information illicitly.
Exiled in California with his wife Meghan, the youngest son of King Charles III, in delicate with the rest of the British royal family, has initiated a series of legal proceedings against British newspapers. Holding the tabloid press responsible for the death of his mother Diana, Harry also cited the media's behaviour towards his wife as one of the factors that led him to leave the UK. The prince is expected Monday at the High Court, his testimony is due on Tuesday.
Illegal collection of information
In the ongoing trial, which began last month at the High Court in London, Harry and the other plaintiffs accuse the publisher of the Daily Mirror of using illicit processes to gather information. Among them, the possible hacking of telephone e-mails between 1995 and 2001.
The Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) - which in addition to the Daily Mirror publishes its Sunday and celebrity editions - acknowledged at the beginning of the trial in its written conclusions "some evidence" of illegal collection of information. MGN apologized "unreservedly" and promised that this situation would "never happen again."
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The publisher's lawyer, Andrew Green, however, rejected the accusations of interception of voicemails. He also brushed aside some accusations, highlighting the age of the facts that date back to a time when the group had other leaders.
Prince Harry's last appearance in the UK was on his whirlwind trip to his father's coronation on May 6. The visit came after weeks of speculation in the wake of the storm of the publication of his memoirs in January, in which he recounts, among other things, the breakdown of his relationship with his father and brother William, as well as his drug use in his turbulent youth.
A surprise appearance at a hearing against a tabloid
It was the first appearance of a member of the royal family in court since 2002, when Princess Anne, Harry's aunt, was fined after two children were bitten by her bull terrier in Windsor Park.
But having pleaded guilty, she did not have to testify. The last royal appearance at the bar was in 1890 and the future Edward VII for a libel suit. At the end of March, Harry had created the surprise by appearing at the High Court - but in the public - on the occasion of a preliminary hearing against ANL, the publisher of the Daily Mail, accused of the same methods, by a series of personalities, including the singer Elton John.
