Amidst divorce rumours, Prince Harry leaves judge ‘surprised’; misses the first day of court hearing against UK tabloid
Harry, King Charles’ younger son, had been expected to appear in court on Monday and to be questioned in the witness stand from either Monday or Tuesday, becoming the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for 130 years.
He is one of more than 100 other high-profile figures suing the Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, for alleged phone-hacking and other unlawful behaviour between 1991 and 2011.
According to agency reports, the trial began last month, as lawyers representing Harry and three other test claimants attempted to prove that unlawful information gathering was carried out with the knowledge and approval of senior editors and executives.
Harry‘s lawyer David Sherborne told the judge, Timothy Fancourt, that the prince would not be attending Monday’s hearing, held in a modern courtroom at the High Court’s Rolls Building that was packed with media and a smattering of members of the public.
Sherborne said Harry flew from his home in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, after attending his daughter Lilibet’s second birthday, but was not available to give evidence on Monday.
Fancourt said he was “surprised” after he had asked that the first witness in each of the four test cases appear in court on the first day of their individual case. MGN’s lawyer Andrew Green said it was “absolutely extraordinary” that the prince would not be there.
He is seeking to question Harry for more than a day over 33 articles that Harry says were based on material which was unlawfully obtained.
MGN, now owned by Reach, apologised at the start of the trial for one admitted occasion that the Sunday People had unlawfully sought information about Harry, accepting he was entitled to compensation.
But it has rejected his other allegations, saying he had no evidence for his claims. Buckingham Palace is likely to feature prominently in Harry’s cross-examination, with MGN arguing that some information had come from royal aides.
In court documents, Harry says the impact of the alleged unlawful activities was to cause him “huge distress” and paranoia, blaming it for the breakdown of his relationship with ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy.
This week’s appearance will be the second time this year Harry has attended the High Court, after joining singer Elton John and others for hearings in March over their lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily and Sunday Mail tabloids.
Harry, the fifth-in-line to the throne, has barely been out of the headlines in the last six months. He is in engaged in several legal battles with the British press, including a similar phone-hacking case against Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper arm.
The prince has also accused his family and their aides in his memoir and Netflix documentary series of colluding with tabloids. The palace has not commented on those accusations.
Harry fighting his own battles
Prince Harry could be denied entry to the US by any border guard who has read his admission of drug taking in Spare, claim legal experts.
Sky News host Caleb Bond says Prince Harry’s US visa is under scrutiny following his confession to using illicit drugs in his book ‘Spare’. US government will appear in court over Prince Harry’s visa application. But the question is whether Harry is paying the price for being just too honest in his controversial memoir Spare?
Prince Harry admitted in his book Spare mentioned that he used psychedelic drugs to deal with him mother Lady Diana’s death. “The US, as we know, has very strict rules about being able to go back into the US or entering the US, and they basically ban anyone … who has used drugs,” Mr Bond said. “Prince Harry may well be locked in the UK for life.”
Legal experts have concluded Prince Harry could be denied re-entry to the United States thanks to the drug-taking admissions the Duke of Sussex made in his autobiography.
All not well in Harry & Meghna’s marriage
Looks like Harry and Meghan’s marriage is going through a rough phase. According to GeoTv report, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle seem to be heading in different directions five years after their marriage, according to an article published on the fifth wedding anniversary of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. In fact, according to sources, Prince Harry has a separate room to get away from Meghan Markle.
As per reports a royal commentators believe all is not well in the Sussexs’ marriage. Eagle-eyed observers say the couple did not release a family photograph on Christmas and Harry was seen promoting his book “Spare” without Meghan by his side earlier this year.
They think no acknowledgment of their five-year wedding anniversary, Harry’s solo appearance at the coronation of King Charles and Meghan’s solo brand relaunch with WME are enough of evidence to corroborate their claims that the marriage of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle is on the rocks.
(With inputs from agencies)
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