LONDON (CNN) – Britain’s Prince Harry has arrived at the London High Court to attend a hearing on his lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited over allegations of unlawful information gathering.
The Duke of Sussex joined a group of high-profile figures including singer Elton John in legal action against the publisher of the Chron, Mail on Sunday and Mail Online last year.
The lawsuit alleges Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) used various means of criminal activity over the years to obtain information about high-profile figures.
Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, David Furnish and Doreen Lawrence make up the rest of the plaintiffs behind the lawsuit.
They claim they are “victims of heinous criminal activity and gross violations of privacy,” according to a statement from their representatives at the time.
The group has accused ANL of hiring private investigators to carry out unlawful acts such as installing wiretapping devices in homes and cars and recording private conversations. It also claims the publisher pays corrupt police officers to get inside information, engages in identity forgery and deception to get medical records, and hacks into bank accounts and financial transactions through “illegal means and manipulation.”
A four-day preliminary hearing in London’s Royal Courts of Justice begins on Monday, while the ANL is expected to seek to dismiss the case.
The publisher has dismissed the allegations as “absurd libel” and called the lawsuit a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal,” according to PA Media.
An ANL spokesman added that the claims were “baseless and highly defamatory claims without credible evidence,” British news outlet PA Media reports.
The case against ANL is one of several lawsuits that Prince Harry has brought in recent years.
He is also suing ANL after his Mail on Sunday newspaper published an article about his separate court case against the UK Home Office over his family’s safety precautions while visiting the UK.
Meanwhile, in 2019 he also sued the owners of the British tabloids Sun and Daily Mirror over alleged historic phone hacking. The case against the editor of the Daily Mirror is due to be heard in May.
The 38-year-old king’s surprise appearance in London on Monday is believed to be his first trip back to the UK since he and his wife Meghan attended the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II in September.
In the months since, the Sussexes have released a Netflix docuseries and the Duke’s memoir, which provide further insight into his fractured relationship with the rest of the royal family.
Harry is not expected to see his brother, the Prince of Wales, a royal source told CNN. As it is school holidays, Prince William will not be in Windsor, the source added.
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