Prince Harry, Elton John in court for privacy suit against British tabloid

Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, and his wife, the former actor Meghan Markle, stepped down as working royals in 2020 and moved to the U.S., citing what they described as the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. Monday is the start of a four-day preliminary hearing at London’s Royal Courts of Justice, during which ANL is expected to try to have the case thrown out. Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, David Furnish and Doreen Lawrence make up the rest of the plaintiffs behind the legal action. As first reported by Byline Investigates, the lawsuits were filed on Sept. 27 at London’s High Court, via Harry’s lawyers Clintons LLP. This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks. There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase, a SQL command or malformed data.
Another "arguable matter that arises" is whether Harry "should have had the opportunity to make representations direct to RAVEC, including the opportunity to comment on other matters RAVEC considered," the judge wrote. The Home Office has said it will not comment on ongoing legal proceedings, Sky News reported. This court artist sketch by Elizabeth Cook shows Prince Harry, second right, in court at the Royal Courts Of Justice, central London, Monday, March 27, 2023.

Harry's presence at the High Court in London is a sign of the importance he attaches to the lawsuit he and other celebrities have filed against a group of British tabloids. Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, and his wife, the former actress Meghan Markle, stepped down as working royals in 2020 and moved to the U.S., citing what they described as the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media. Town & Country understands that Prince William and his family are not at their Windsor home this  week as the three children are on holiday from school for the Easter break.
Other plaintiffs include actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, as well as Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence, whose 1993 murder was heavily covered by the British press. The alleged activity ran from 1993 to 2011, “even continuing beyond until 2018,” the lawyers said. Harry has sued his homeland’s government for not providing enough security for him to feel safe coming to the UK. “Absolutely nobody was expecting this because really there is no need for Prince Harry to be appearing in court this week,” said Sky News correspondent Katie Spencer, one of the reporters at court Monday. “It would be surprising indeed for any reasonably informed member of the public, let alone a figure in the public eye, to have been unaware of these matters,” attorney Adrian Beltrami said in writing. Articles were falsely attributed to “friends,” a family source, palace sources, royal insider, or similar unnamed individuals to throw subjects “off the scent” of the true origin, Sherborne said.

"These unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims -- based on no credible evidence -- appear to be simply a fishing expedition by claimants and their lawyers, some of whom have already pursued cases elsewhere," the publisher said in its statement. Prince Harryreturned to a London court Tuesday for a second day of hearings to see if the phone hacking lawsuit he brought with Elton John and other celebrities can withstand a challenge from the publisher of The Daily Mail. The publisher denies the allegations and said the claims are too old to be brought and information about the phone hacking scandal was so widely known the subjects could have sued years ago. The accusers allege they were victims of “numerous unlawful acts” carried out by the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, including phone hacking and “even commissioning the breaking and entry into private property,” according to extracts of submissions made to the court.
The Duke of Sussex is one of six people suing a publisher for privacy violations. They also argued that leading executives at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, including the former editor Paul Dacre, had repeatedly denied any illegality took place at their newspapers, which they claimed was tantamount to concealing the alleged wrongdoing. Harry’s accusations rely partly on evidence from a lengthy witness statement signed in 2021 by a private investigator, Gavin Burrows, and released to journalists on Wednesday. Prince Harry’s case against the owner of the Daily Mail depends on an alleged confession from an unreliable private investigator who has recanted his evidence, according to the publisher’s lawyers. Harry and his fellow claimants, on the other hand, aim to convince Mr Justice Nicklin to press on to trial where their allegations can be tested in open court, doubtless amid enormous publicity. Harry's presence during three days of the legal wrangling indicates the lawsuit’s importance in the prince’s broader battle against the British press.
Monday’s hearing is not expected to hear from any of the famous claimants accusing the Mail and its sister publications of phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy. Prince Harry claimed Mail on Sunday's implication that the Duke of Sussex lied in his initial statements regarding the security lawsuit libeled him. In his statement of claim, Harry says Mulcaire, through former News of the World executive Greg Miskiw, provided “unlawfully or illegally obtained information” and offered a “menu of illegal services” to an employee of the Mail on Sunday. "The Institution was without a doubt withholding information from me for a long time about NGN's phone hacking and that has only become clear in recent years as I have pursued my own claim with different legal advice and representation." Media outlets said Harry was not expected to see his father or his older brother William, the Prince of Wales, during his visit to the U.K.

The 'Piers Morgan Uncensored' host discusses the British prime minister's crackdown on illegal immigration and the possibility of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle's attending the coronation. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. Today Prince Harry arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice for the second day of the privacy case hearing. Prince Harry is bringing the action along with others including actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, Sir Elton John and his husband, filmmaker David Furnish, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon OBE. "Nothing was okay," Harry said of his relationship with his family in a "60 Minutes" interview with Anderson Cooper when his memoir, titled "Spare," came out.
The couple then returned with their children in June to celebrate the queen's Platinum Jubilee, their first known trip to the U.K. At the time, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures made a decision that security would be granted on a case-by-case basis. The taxpayer cost of the legal battle has reportedly been revealed following an information request by the Sun to the Royal and VIP Executive Committee­. The Home Office has stated that the taxpayer should not foot the bill for  the litigation and has committed to recovering legal costs from Harry if he is unsuccessful in his court case. Prince Harry said that he has offered to pay for any Metropolitan Police security himself whenever he spends time in the UK. Indeed, earlier this year a spokesman for the duke confirmed that he did not want to impose on the taxpayers.
Prince Harry took the stand on Tuesday and he directly points his finger at the Palace Press Staff members. Prince Harry's lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mirror newspaper over allegations of phone hacking will go to trial in May, a judge at London's High Court ruled on Wednesday. LONDON — — Prince Harry and Elton John were in a London court Monday as the lawyer for a group of British tabloids asked a judge to toss the lawsuit they brought with several other  high-profile people who allege phone hacking and other invasions of privacy.