Prince Harry made a surprise appearance in London, but a reconciliation with Prince William and King Charles III is not happening, royal experts insist.
The Duke of Sussex was in court on Monday as the lawyer for a group of British tabloids stood ready to ask a judge to dismiss the lawsuit he had filed with several other high-profile people. They allege phone tapping and other invasions of privacy.
The 38-year-old is believed to be staying with friends in town, a source told Fox News Digital.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in his role as plaintiff after attending a lawsuit against the Associated Newspapers in London on March 27, 2023. (Karwai Tang / WireImage)
“Harry’s trip to London has one purpose and one purpose only – to focus solely on the legal cases he and Meghan Markle are pursuing against the British press,” Christopher Andersen, author of The King, told Fox News Digital. “He doesn’t appear to have plans to smooth things over with his brother William or his father the King.”
Andersen claimed that Harry’s relationship with his family was deeply fractured following the release of his explosive memoir, Spare, in January. In it, the father of two detailed his struggles with royal life.
“Even if Harry wanted to reconcile before the coronation, it’s highly unlikely he would get a warm welcome,” Andersen shared. “William seems to have thrown up his hands in disgust. Charles III is still furious at Harry’s devastating portrayal of his wife Camilla as a vicious schemer in his bombshell memoir.”
PRINCE HARRY APPEARS IN COURT IN THE CASE AGAINST BRITISH TABILITIES
Several royal pundits told Fox News Digital that the Duke of Sussex is not expected to smooth things over with his family following the release of his explosive memoir, Spare (Jordan Pettitt/PA Images via Getty Images).
Harry’s presence at the High Court is a sign of the importance he attaches to the case, one of several lawsuits the Duke of Sussex has brought against the media. The hearing is expected to last four days.
The case alleges Associated Newspapers Ltd., which publishes titles like the Chron, commissioned “breaking into and trespassing on private property” and engaged in unlawful acts, including hiring private investigators to bug homes, cars and private homes record phone calls.
“They have been the victims of numerous unlawful acts by the defendant or by persons acting at the direction of his newspapers, The Chron and The Mail On Sunday,” attorney David Sherborne said in a court document.
Sir Elton John leaves the Royal Courts of Justice in his role as plaintiff after attending a lawsuit against the Associated Newspapers in London on March 27, 2023. (Karwai Tang / WireImage)
While Harry wages war on the British press, the royal family is nowhere to be seen. According to royal experts, William and his family are on vacation. The Prince and Princess of Wales are known to escape from Anmer Hall, their country home, when their three children are out of school.
King Charles embarks on his royal trip to Germany with Queen Camilla on Wednesday. The pair were originally due to be in France this week, but that part of the tour has been postponed due to ongoing unrest in the country.
“Harry is not expected to see his family,” royal expert Richard Fitzwilliams told Fox News Digital. He pointed out that this is Harry’s first visit to his home country since the death of Queen Elizabeth II in September.
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Prince William and Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales, are said to be on holiday with their three children: Prince George, Princess Charlotte and Prince Louis. (Samir Hussein / WireImage / File)
“The gulf between the Sussexes and the royal family is deep,” Fitzwilliams said. “The King is not in London and there are no plans for a meeting. William and [Kate Middleton] went away with their children over the Easter holidays.”
“Harry’s animosity towards Fleet Street, stemming from the misguided notion that somehow the press was solely responsible for his mother’s death, runs so deep,” Andersen said. “He certainly didn’t want to miss the opportunity to face-to-face with the top executives of Britain’s biggest tabloids.”
Royal expert Shannon Felton Spence told Fox News Digital that Harry was under no obligation to perform. However, he wanted to send a clear message to the British press. He previously described how he wants to change the British media landscape. Other people involved in the lawsuit include Elton John, a close friend of his late mother, and his husband David Furnish, along with actresses Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley.
King Charles III meets with Turkish and Ukrainian staff during a visit to the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development on March 23, 2023 in London. The king will be in Germany on Wednesday. (Kirsty Wigglesworth/WPA-Pool/Getty Images)
The allegations date back to 1993 and have continued into 2018, Sherborne said. However, the editor said the allegations were too old to be made now and should also be dismissed as they are based on information the newspapers had given confidentially to a 2012 investigation into media lawbreaking.
“Hacking phones or other unfair means of gathering information under the auspices of public interest reporting is a clear invasion of privacy,” said Felton Spence. “Harry isn’t legally required to be there today, but he’s using an appearance to spread the word about the case.”
“[But] Is it a coincidence that his family was away at the same time? No. Nothing is a coincidence,” she said. “William and Catherine are on holiday with the children and the King is on a trip to Europe. [And] It’s interesting that he traveled to the UK to perform, especially given his ongoing battle with the Home Office over security. It is to be expected that there were other chores to be done – including Frogmore Cottage and any discussions regarding the coronation in just a few weeks.
PRINCE HARRY, MEGHAN MARKLE’S RESIGNATION ‘TIP OF THE ICEBERG’ IN KING CHARLES’ SLENDER MONARCHY PLANS: REPORT
In “Spare,” Prince Harry singled out Camilla, the queen consort, and accused her of leaking private talks to the media as she tried to redeem her image after marrying King Charles. Camilla was once berated for her long-running affair with Charles, which contributed to the breakdown of his marriage to the late Prince Diana, Harry’s mother. (Phil Noble/WPA-Pool/Getty Images)
Royal commentator Jonathan Sacerdoti told Fox News Digital that Charles, 74, wants to keep his son’s affairs private.
“King Charles is both a father and a king,” explained Sacerdoti. “He has to balance those two responsibilities and will want to act correctly in both roles, but one of those roles is private and understandably he seems to prefer dealing with it outside of the public eye.” Harry and Meghan have spoken repeatedly about the intrusions they believe have encroached on their lives, so I assume private family talks are better everywhere.
“Harry has spoken openly about various private matters, from internal family discussions to previously unknown details of his military career,” he said. “These have not been without controversy and have caused problems for the royal family.
It has been revealed that the Duke and Duchess of Sussex have been asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage (pictured here), their home in the UK. (Getty Images)
“Harry and Meghan’s track record shows that they may not understand the negative impact their actions are having on their family, including potentially their children, who may one day find excessive public sharing problematic,” Sacerdoti continued. “You have done so much publicly; I think it’s likely that the royal family will be careful about what is said and done to avoid worse. The king will want to publicly at least focus on his role as monarch and his upcoming coronation. That’s going to be the focus of his public actions and I think that’s probably a smart move.”
It is still unclear whether the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will be in Britain for the King’s coronation. On March 5, a spokesman for the Sussexes confirmed that Harry had received “email correspondence” from the King’s office about the coronation.
“An immediate decision on whether the Duke and Duchess will attend will not be announced by us at this time,” the couple’s office said in a statement.
CHILDREN OF PRINCE WILLIAM ATTEND THE KING’S CORONATION; PRINCE HARRY’S KIDS YET TO BE INVITED
It’s unclear if the Duke and Duchess of Sussex will attend the coronation in May following the release of Prince Harry’s memoir Spare. (Angela Weiss/AFP via Getty Images/File)
That same week, the Sussexes also admitted they were asked to vacate Frogmore Cottage, their home in the UK. The Sun newspaper reported that on January 11, the day after Harry’s memoir was published, Charles asked her to vacate the apartment. According to reports, the couple will have to move out by early summer.
The coronation is scheduled for May 6th, just before a significant date for Harry.
“Interestingly, Harry’s separate privacy case against the Mirror Group is scheduled to start in London on May 9 – three days after the coronation,” Andersen said. “Will Harry try to kill two birds with one stone and return to London for both of them? Or will he skip the coronation but return just days later to appear at the trial? Trouble over a unique moment in British history – quite a slap in the face to the rest of the royal family.”
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex live in the affluent coastal town of Montecito, California with their two children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet (Getty Images).
“The way things are now it seems more and more likely that Harry will miss the coronation and maybe show up for the Mirror case at a later date as that case is supposed to last six or seven weeks,” Andersen added.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex stepped down as senior royals in 2020, citing what they described as intolerable interference and racist attitudes from the British media. They now live in California.
Harry has said he wants to make British media reform his life’s work. In “Spare,” he blamed an overly aggressive press for his mother’s death in 1997 and accused the media of persecuting his wife.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.