Prince Harry a no-show on 1st day of phone hacking trial with British tabloid

FILE - Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex arrives at the Royal Courts of Justice on March 30, 2023 in London, England. phone hacking trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror kicked off without him present in court — and the judge was not happy.

Harry was scheduled to testify Tuesday, but his lawyer was told last week the duke should attend Monday's proceedings in London's High Court in case the opening statements concluded before the end of the day. He has blamed paparazzi for causing the car crash that killed his mother, Princess Diana, and said harassment and intrusion by the U.K. press, including allegedly racist articles, led him and his wife, Meghan, to flee to the U.S. in 2020 and leave royal life behind.

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.Prince Harry, Meghan Markle and her mother were involved in a "near catastrophic" paparazzi chase after a charity event in New York, a family spokesperson said.

Harry's fury at the U.K. press — and sometimes at his own royal relatives for what he sees as their collusion with the media — runs through his memoir, "Spare," and interviews conducted by Oprah Winfrey and others. His claims will face a tough audience in court when he is cross-examined by Mirror Group's attorney.

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What to know as Prince Harry prepares for court fight with British tabloid publisherPrince Harry has become the royal family's most famous litigant in London. The Duke of Sussex has five active legal cases, three of them involving his battle with the British tabloids. He is expected to testify Tuesday in London's High Court in the first of three cases accusing newspaper publishers of hacking his phone and other invasions of privacy. If he takes the witness stand, he’ll be the first member of the royal family to testify in court since the late 19th century. Harry's other two cases are focused around the British government's decision to withdraw his security detail when he stepped away from royal life in 2020.
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