Explainer | Why is Prince Harry - who ‘surprised’ judge by failing to appear in court - testifying?
- Youngest son of King Charles did not turn up for his case; he is due to be the first British royal to testify for 130 years, grilled over his suing of Mirror Group Newspapers
- ‘His travel, security arrangements are such that it is a little bit tricky’ said his lawyer; over 100 other people are also suing the publisher over phone-hacking allegations
Prince Harry failed to appear on Monday at the High Court in London where he is suing a British tabloid publisher, with the judge saying he was surprised by his absence and a lawyer for the newspapers calling his no-show “extraordinary”.
Harry, King Charles’ younger son, will face hours of questioning in the witness box on Tuesday, becoming the first senior British royal to give evidence in court for 130 years when he testifies as part of his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
Harry’s allegations are the focus of the trial this week, and the prince had been expected to attend on Monday.
His lawyer David Sherborne told the judge, Timothy Fancourt, that Harry had flown 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.
“His travel arrangements are such and his security arrangements are such that it is a little bit tricky,” Sherborne told the packed courtroom.
Fancourt said he was “surprised” after he had asked that the first witness in each of 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 on Monday, and accused his legal team of wasting the court’s time, saying he had expected to start cross-examining the royal.