The Duke of Sussex has arrived at the High Court in London as the trial against the publisher of The Daily Mail over allegations of unlawful information gathering begins.
Dressed smartly in a navy blue suit with a matching tie over a white shirt, Prince Harry, 41, waved briefly as he made his way inside the court.
Harry, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, campaigner Baroness Doreen Lawrence, politician Sir Simon Hughes and actresses Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley are all taking action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).
The group claims that the publisher carried out or commissioned unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, "blagging" private records and accessing private phone conversations.
The alleged unlawful information gathering (UIG) by the publisher left the Duke of Sussex "paranoid beyond belief", the court was told through his lawyers on Monday.
ANL, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, has vehemently denied the allegations.
Harry and the other claimants are all expected to provide evidence, with the Duke's time in the witness box scheduled to be on Thursday. Sir Elton and Mr Furnish are expected to give evidence remotely. The trial is expected to last nine weeks.
Who else attended the High Court on Monday?
Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley were two of the other high-profile claimants who attended court on Monday.
In her case against ANL, Sadie alleges she suffered invasions of her privacy through phone hacking and the tapping of her ex-husband Jude Law's landline when he was discussing details of their divorce settlement.
Meanwhile, Elizabeth arrived at the central London court, supported by her 23-year-old son, Damian.
Why is Prince Harry at the High Court?
The group of seven claimants, including Prince Harry, all allege ANL had a practice of "clear systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering".
The claimants started legal action against ANL in 2022, with documents setting out the claims naming dozens of journalists, including some national newspaper editors. In 2023, ANL failed to have the cases thrown out before a trial on the basis that they were "time-barred", or brought too late.
In written submissions for the hearing in May that year, Adrian Beltrami KC, for ANL, said that the legal actions were "stale". He also said the individuals had to prove they did not know earlier, or could not have discovered earlier, that they might have had a claim against it for alleged misuse of their private information.
The barrister for the claimants, David Sherborne, previously said the alleged unlawful acts in the claim include illegally intercepting voicemail messages, listening to live landline calls and obtaining medical records.
In written submissions, he said: "They range through a period from 1993 to 2011, even continuing beyond until 2018."
Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed ANL's bid to have the claims dismissed in November 2023, ruling that the publisher had not delivered a "knockout blow" to the claims. He concluded that each of the group had a "real prospect" of demonstrating that ANL concealed "relevant facts" that would have allowed them to bring a claim against the publisher earlier.
Harry's claims against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday are based on 14 articles by two journalists between 2001 and 2013, written submissions say.
Mr Sherborne's submissions read: "The unlawful articles in this claim were predominantly within the Diary column of the Mail on Sunday, but include articles in the Daily Mail as well. The Duke's claim is in misuse of private information in relation to each of the 14 unlawful articles."
Prince Harry's previous legal action
Harry has previously brought legal action against other newspaper publishers over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
In 2023, he was awarded £140,600 in damages from Mirror Group Newspapers, and settled a claim against News Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, last January.
The Duke also lost a Court of Appeal challenge against the Home Office over his security arrangements while in the UK last May. The Home Office has now ordered a threat assessment for the first time since 2020, The Sun reported in December.
Prince Harry's legal team
The Duke, along with the other claimants, is being represented by barrister, David Sherborne, who has taken on a number of high-profile cases throughout his career.
Mr Sherborne is an accomplished media lawyer and has represented a slew of A-list clients during his career from Harry Styles to Tony Blair to the Duke's late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Will Harry see the royal family during his UK visit?
The Duke is not expected to see the King or the Prince and Princess of Wales during his visit. Charles, 77, is currently in Scotland for his traditional post-Christmas stay and will host a reception at the Palace of Holyroodhouse to celebrate Scotland's entrepreneurial spirit on Monday.
Father and son were last reunited in September after 19 months, with Harry meeting with Charles at Clarence House for tea during his visit.
The Telegraph reported that royal sources acknowledged the King did not wish to be linked to any court proceedings, so will give his son a wide berth on this occasion.
Meanwhile, relations between Harry and his older brother, Prince William, 43, remain estranged. The pair were last seen publicly together at the King's coronation in May 2023.
William and Kate are set to travel up to Stirling in Scotland on Tuesday to meet with the Team GB and Paralympic GB curling squads at the National Curling Academy ahead of the Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games and visit a handweaving studio.
On Thursday, the day Harry is due to give evidence in court, the Prince of Wales will be in Bristol to showcase the city's trailblazing achievements in sustainability.
Additional reporting by PA.