Judge upset as Prince Harry disobeys order on trial’s first day.

Prince Harry Skips Court Appearance, Judge Expresses Displeasure

The highly anticipated legal battle between Prince Harry and the publisher of the Daily Mirror began on Monday, but the Duke of Sussex was not present in court, much to the judge’s dismay. Harry’s lawyer cited his absence, stating that he had flown back to Los Angeles after celebrating his daughter Lilibet’s second birthday on Sunday.

“I’m a little surprised,” Justice Timothy Fancourt said, noting he had directed Harry to be in court for the first day of his case.

The case against Mirror Group Newspaper is the first of several lawsuits that Prince Harry has filed against the media. It alleges that tabloid publishers unlawfully snooped on him in their cutthroat competition for scoops on the royal family. Mirror Group’s lawyer expressed his concern over Harry’s absence on the trial’s opening day.

“The ends justify the means for the defendant,” Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, said. He argued that phone hacking and other forms of unlawful information gathering were carried out on such a widespread scale that it was implausible the publisher’s newspapers used a private investigator to dig up dirt on the prince only once, which is what they have admitted.

Stories about Harry were big sellers for the newspapers, and some 2,500 articles had covered all facets of his life — from his illnesses at school to ups and downs with girlfriends, Sherborne said. “There was no time in his life when he was safe from these activities,” Sherborne said. “Nothing was sacrosanct or out of bounds.”

Prince Harry’s Testimony

Harry had been scheduled to testify on Tuesday, but his lawyer was told last week that the duke should attend Monday’s proceedings in London’s High Court in case the opening statements concluded before the end of the day. When he enters the witness box, Harry, 38, will be the first member of the British royal family in more than a century to testify in court. He is expected to describe his anguish and anger over being hounded by the media throughout his life and its impact on those around him.

He has blamed paparazzi for causing the car crash that killed his mother, Princess Diana, and said harassment and intrusion by the U.K. media, including allegedly racist articles, led him and his wife, Meghan, to flee to the U.S. in 2020 and leave royal life behind.

The Articles at Issue

The articles at issue in the trial date back to his 12th birthday, in 1996, when the Mirror reported Harry was feeling “badly” about the divorce of his mother and father, now King Charles III. Harry said in court documents that ongoing tabloid reports made him wonder whom he could trust as he feared friends and associates were betraying him by leaking information to the newspapers. His circle of friends grew smaller, and he suffered “huge bouts of depression and paranoia.” Relationships fell apart as the women in his life — and even their family members — were “dragged into the chaos.”

He says he later discovered that the source wasn’t disloyal friends but aggressive journalists and the private investigators they hired to eavesdrop on voicemails and track him to locations as remote as Argentina and an island off Mozambique.

Mirror Group Newspapers said it didn’t hack Harry’s phone and its articles were based on legitimate reporting techniques. The publisher admitted and apologized for hiring a private eye to dig up dirt on one of Harry’s nights out at a bar, but the resulting 2004 article headlined “Sex on the beach with Harry” is not among the 33 in question at trial.

Have Your Say

Phone Hacking Scandal Continues as Prince Harry Takes on Mirror Group

The phone hacking scandal that rocked British tabloids in the early 2000s is back in the news as Prince Harry takes on Mirror Group in court. The Mirror Group has already paid over $125 million to settle hundreds of unlawful information-gathering claims, but denies that executives, including former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, knew about the hacking. Harry’s memoir, “Spare,” and interviews with Oprah Winfrey and others have highlighted his fury at the U.K. media and his own royal relatives for what he sees as their collusion with the media.

The Trial

Harry and three others have accused the Mirror of phone hacking and unlawful information gathering. In the first part of the trial, Harry’s attorney claimed that the unlawful acts were “widespread and habitual” at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People, and carried out on “an industrial scale.”

What Happened?

Phone hacking that involved guessing or obtaining security codes to listen in on celebrities’ cell phone voice messages was widespread at British tabloids in the early years of this century. It became an existential crisis for the industry after the revelation in 2011 that the News of the World had hacked the phone of a slain 13-year-old girl. Owner Rupert Murdoch shut down the paper and several of his executives faced criminal trials.

The Fallout

Mirror Group has paid more than $125 million to settle hundreds of unlawful information-gathering claims and printed an apology to phone hacking victims in 2015. However, the scandal continues to haunt the industry and those involved.

Prince Harry’s Role

Prince Harry’s claims against Mirror Group will face a tough audience in court when he is cross-examined by the group’s attorney. However, Harry’s willingness to take on the media and his own family has won him many supporters and highlighted the ongoing need for accountability and transparency in the media industry.

• Phone hacking scandal continues as Prince Harry takes on Mirror Group in court
• Mirror Group has already paid over $125 million to settle hundreds of unlawful information-gathering claims
• Prince Harry’s memoir and interviews have highlighted his fury at the U.K. media and his own royal relatives
• Phone hacking was widespread at British tabloids in the early 2000s and became an existential crisis for the industry
• Prince Harry’s claims against Mirror Group will face a tough audience in court

Prince Harry’s Phone Hacking Cases in Jeopardy

Prince Harry’s legal battles against News Group Newspapers and Associated Newspapers Ltd. are in limbo as the court decides whether the cases will proceed to trial.

The publishers argue that the cases should be thrown out due to a six-year deadline, but Harry’s lawyer argues that an exception should be made due to the publishers’ deception.

Despite a judge’s order to appear in person on the opening day of the trial, Prince Harry defied the order, much to the judge’s displeasure.

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The Western Journal has reviewed this Associated Press story and may have altered it prior to publication to ensure that it meets our editorial standards.

Stay tuned for updates on this developing story.