Image: (APA/AFP/VALERIE MACON)
The younger son of King Charles III. appeared in court shortly before the court started on Monday. The hearing, which is scheduled for four days, is about whether there will be a trial in the case of illegal wiretapping methods.
Also and Sadie Frost have joined the lawsuit.
The 38-year-old’s participation in the meeting was not expected. Now he was sitting at the back of Room 76, two seats away from actress Sadie Frost. She joined the lawsuit, as did pop star Elton John, his husband David Furnish and actress Liz Hurley. Now and then Harry would write something in a small black notebook. It was unclear whether his wife Duchess Meghan (41) also arrived from Montecito in California – she was not publicly visible on Monday.
Harry has recently made it clear how much he despises the tabloids – also with regard to the accidental death of his mother Diana in 1997, who was followed by paparazzi in Paris. In his autobiography “Reserve”, the Netflix documentary “Harry & Meghan” and several interviews, he also blames the “Yellow Press”, which is widespread in Great Britain, for the cold and sometimes inhuman climate that prevailed against him and Meghan in the palace. There was talk of an unhealthy alliance between the boulevard and the royal family.
The fifth in line to the throne accused his mother-in-law, Queen Camilla, of leaking information to put himself and other royals in a good light at his expense. The allegations have worsened the relationship between Harry on the one hand and father Charles and brother heir to the throne Prince William on the other.
It’s still unclear if Harry and Meghan will arrive for the coronation of Charles and Camilla on May 6 – the fourth birthday of their son Prince Archie. Recently, royal sources had scattered that Harry and Meghan would demand that they be taken into account when the royal family showed up to the people after the ceremony on the balcony of Buckingham Palace. In the face of Harry’s surprise visit, observers speculated that the Duke of Sussex might meet with family members for crisis talks.
But as the PA news agency reported, it’s unlikely to happen. The king is currently neither in London nor in nearby Windsor. This Wednesday he is leaving for a state visit to Germany with Camilla. A meeting with William is also unlikely, it said. The heir to the throne and wife Princess Kate and their three children are also not in Windsor because of the Easter holidays.
So many questions are still open – including whether Harry will stay at Windsor Castle. Frogmore Cottage was always available to him and Meghan on the extensive area. It was recently revealed that Charles had asked the couple, who have been off official duty for years, to vacate the house. According to reports, his brother Prince Andrew, who has fallen out of favor with the public because of his involvement in an abuse scandal, is to move in there. The eviction from Frogmore Cottage may have fueled tensions within the royal family.
“Victims of heinous criminal activities”
The allegations by Harry and the other celebrities against the publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) relate to the period from 1993 to 2011. The publisher ordered the “burglary and intrusion into private property”, illegally intercepted mailbox messages and medical records procured. In a written statement, the group’s lawyer, David Sherborne, said: “The plaintiffs each allege that they have been the victims, in different ways, of numerous unlawful acts committed by the defendants or by individuals acting at the direction of their newspapers, The Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday” traded.” The Harry side has previously said there is “convincing and extremely distressing evidence that they have been victims of heinous criminal activity and gross invasions of privacy.”
ANL dismisses the allegations as “absurd slander”. It was a “planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the “Mail” title into the telephone tapping scandal,” emphasized the publisher. He wants to move to have the lawsuits dismissed, preventing a trial that would start later in the year.
Source: Nachrichten
