For the first time in more than 130 years, a member of the Royal Family is expected to take the witness stand. The media frenzy is huge. But first patience is required.
Surprisingly, Prince Harry did not appear on Monday for a trial over allegations of spying on the publisher of the newspaper “Daily Mirror”. His client landed in London from Los Angeles on Sunday evening after celebrating daughter Lilibet’s second birthday, Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne told the High Court. will testify this Tuesday – as the first royal in a court case in more than 130 years. The process began on May 10th.
Judge Timothy Fancourt was irritated and stressed that witnesses should be available a day before they were scheduled to testify. Lawyer for the publisher Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), Andrew Green, criticized that this would unnecessarily waste time in court. Green announced that he wanted to cross-examine Harry for a day and a half.
Harry is expected to comment on details of the offending reporting, including his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy. In the civil class action lawsuit against MGN, the cases of Harry and other celebrities are being heard as an example. They accuse the journalists of having spied on them illegally. In particular, the focus is on how much the management level was involved in the practices.
allegations of illegal research
Attorney Sherborne said Monday it involved unlawful information gathering on a large scale between 1999 and 2006 when Harry was part of the youth. The 33 newspaper articles about the prince selected for trial represented only a sampling of the 147 reports he originally complained about and a fraction of 2,500 articles published about him during the period.
It is known from other proceedings that several tabloid media conducted illegal research. However, the publisher rejects the allegations in the current process. A total of three days – until Wednesday – are scheduled for Harry’s allegations. The process runs until the end of June, and a verdict is not expected until the end of the year. The trial is one of several Harry is leading in a campaign against the British tabloids.
The last member of the royal family to appear in court was Charles’ sister Princess Anne, who pleaded guilty in 2002 and was fined after one of her dogs bit two children. The last time a royal was cross-examined was in 1891 – the heir to the throne at the time, Prince Edward, testified in a case about cheating at cards.
Source: Stern
I am an author and journalist who has worked in the entertainment industry for over a decade. I currently work as a news editor at a major news website, and my focus is on covering the latest trends in entertainment. I also write occasional pieces for other outlets, and have authored two books about the entertainment industry.
