Why Prince Harry Didn’t Take the Stand to Testify Against Mirror Group Newspapers on Monday

The Duke of Sussex is expected to be cross-examined by lawyers for the publishing hub in High Court tomorrow

Prince Harry did not appear in London court on Monday for a family-related reason.

The Duke of Sussex, 38, was expected to appear at the High Court of the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday as his claims against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) for alleged unlawful information gathering are raised this week in an ongoing lawsuit. Prince Harry’s attorney David Sherborne told the court that his client was not available to give evidence on Monday after traveling from Los Angeles on Sunday night after attending Princess Lilibet’s birthday. Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's daughter turned 2 on June 4.

“His travel arrangements are such and his security arrangements are such that it is a little bit tricky,” Sherborne said, according to Reuters.

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Though Prince Harry is not due to give evidence until Tuesday, where he may face hours of questioning, the judge Mr. Justice Falcourt had previously asked that witnesses be available on the first day of their individual cases in the event there was time to give evidence, the BBC reported. Fancourt said he was a “little surprised” by Harry’s absence on Monday, while MGN lawyer Andrew Green accused his team of “wasting time.”

The Duke of Sussex is expected to make modern royal history on Tuesday when he takes the stand to testify against the newspaper group. The last prominent member of the British royal family to do so was King Edward VII, who testified as a witness in a divorce case in 1870 and again in a slander trial over a card game in 1890 before becoming King, Reuters reported.

Prince Harry is expected to be cross-examined in the lawsuit against MGN, in which he accuses the publisher of using illegal means like phone hacking to mine information for stories. Harry’s case involves 148 articles published between 1996 and 2010, the BBC said.

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Prince Harry launched the claim in 2019 and is one of over 100 people suing MGN for illegal activity between 1991 and 2022. The prince is one of four "representative" claimants chosen as "test cases" from the larger group, The Independent previously reported. The other claimants selected for trial are actress Nikki Sanderson, actor Michael Turner and Fiona Wightman, ex-wife of comedian Paul Whitehouse — and the stakes are high.

“If Harry and the other claimants win, the judge will use it to set the level of damages (amount of money) MGN could pay in other cases from other celebrities,” the BBC said.

The claimants’ attorneys allege that senior editors and executives at MGN were aware — and approved. The newspaper group has denied the accusations, and said that some of the claims were brought too late.

The trial began May 10 — just four days after the coronation of King Charles and Queen Camilla. When it commenced, Prince Harry received an apology from MGN.

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In court filings, lawyers for MGN said the media group "unreservedly apologises" for one instance of unlawful information gathering against the Duke of Sussex and that the violation "warrants compensation," Sky News reported. According to the outlet, an MGN journalist ordered a private investigator to illegally gather information about the prince's activities at a London nightclub in 2004. The article that followed in The People is not one of Harry's claims in this case, however, the BBC said.

"MGN unreservedly apologises for all such instances of UIG, and assures the claimants that such conduct will never be repeated," the apology read in full.

The publishing hub has otherwise denied the allegations.

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