Prince Harry s court case faces yet more drama as duke s own lawyer demands last-minute delay

Get the Full StoryPrince Harry s ongoing battle with News Group Newspapers NGN has been slightly delayed after the Duke of Sussex s lawyer requested to postpone the start of the trial twice. While Harry himself isn t expected to take to the stand until the end of February, the trial officially began today, or it was supposed to, at least. It was expected to start at 10:30 AM, but the prince s lawyer, David Sherborne, asked the judge to delay the start time. At first, he only asked for an hour to discuss, however, upon returning to the courtroom, Sherborne asked for even more time, requesting that they delay until 2 PM. I have been asked whether Your Lordship would give us a further period of time to continue discussions. I appreciate that does put the timetable, on the face of it, under a little pressure. Despite expressing some concerns with the changes to the timetable, Mr Justice Fancourt decided that a few hours wouldn t hurt, considering the fact that the trial is expected to last around eight to ten weeks. However, he did specify that this would have to be the last adjournment, If you have not reached agreement by lunchtime, we will start at 2pm and I would like to be updated on where you have reached by just before 1pm. It s not exactly clear why the adjournment was necessary, and it s worth noting that Harry s lawyer did not comment on the matter any further. The delay was supported by Anthony Hudson, the lawyer for NGN. What is this lawsuit about? Photo by Max Mumby Indigo Getty Images Prince Harry has been fighting the British tabloids for a number of years now. In 2019, he filed suits against three different newsgroups for the way they gathered information for stories. Harry claimed that the tabloids used illegal methods which included phone hacking, bugging, and deceptive practices in order to find out information about him and others. The judge ruled in the prince s favor with his case against the Mirror Group Newspapers MGN back in 2023, but that still leaves NGN and Associated Newspapers. While the Associated Newspapers battle is ongoing, the next few months will see the court come to a decision regarding NGN s alleged illegal activities. The publisher, which is responsible for the British tabloid known as The Sun, has denied any wrongdoing. Prince Harry is joined by the former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson, who is also suing the newsgroup. While there were many other high profile claimants, the others have all since settled with NGN rather than taking the risk of being lumped with massive legal bills, should they be unsuccessful. Despite this, the prince seems determined to see this through to the end and make sure that the company is held accountable for its alleged activities. We re sure to see fireworks in the coming weeks, with the trial even threatening to drag other members of the Royal family into it.

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