Headache for legal team as Harry skips first day of phone-hacking trial

Prince Harry’s no-show at the high court on Monday caused a headache for his legal team, who were left to explain he had chosen to stay in Los Angeles for his daughter’s second birthday party.

He was originally scheduled to give evidence in his phone-hacking trial against Mirror Group Newspapers on Tuesday. But the judge, Mr Justice Fancourt, had asked for him to be in court and ready to give evidence on Monday, in case lawyers finished their opening legal arguments earlier than expected.

When the Mirror’s legal team indicated they would speed through their opening arguments, Harry’s team admitted their client would not be ready in time – to the obvious annoyance of the judge, who said he was “a little surprised”.

Given the case is being heard in the civil court system without a jury, it is considered unwise to annoy the one person who will decide its outcome.

David Sherborne, Harry’s barrister, told the court his client had only left California on a Sunday night flight, having decided to prioritise attending the celebration for Princess Lilibet.

Andrew Green KC, who will cross-examine Harry on behalf of Mirror Group Newspapers, said it was “extraordinary” that the prince was “not available for day one of his own trial”. Mr Justice Fancourt seemed to agree, suggesting he would consider allowing extra time for cross-examination of the prince on Tuesday and Wednesday if necessary. Green is expected to cast doubt on Harry’s evidence and motive for bringing the case.

For years, phone-hacking court hearings have been held at the high court with sometimes only a handful of reporters present. Such stories were often dismissed as historical curios of a past era of tabloid excess and received only limited coverage.

Harry’s involvement and a slew of new claims have transformed the cases into major news events. Dozens of photographers, television camera crews, and reporters had gathered outside the Rolls Building in central London to capture the arrival of the prince, only to learn he was still dealing with jet lag and would not be attending until Tuesday.

He has only made brief visits to the UK in recent years, making a very short trip to London for his father’s coronation. He also unexpectedly spent three days sitting at the back of the courtroom for a pre-trial hearing in his separate phone-hacking case against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail.

Harry will become the first senior royal to be cross-examined in court since the 1891 royal baccarat scandal, when the future Edward VII was questioned about alleged cheating in a card game.

As it turned out, there would not have been much of an opportunity for Harry to give evidence on Monday, since his own barrister managed to spent almost an entire day making legal arguments.

Sherborne, who has a reputation in legal circles for being verbose, overran his own proposed timetable and only finished his opening arguments shortly before the end of the legal day.

After a short break, the court was briefly delayed in restarting as Sherborne was still out of the room.

The judge’s clerk asked for someone to find the high-profile barrister, so the court’s final session could begin.

“Can someone go and get Mr Sherborne please?” she asked.

“Do we have to?”, heckled one reporter on the press benches.

“I’ll tell him you said that,” the clerk replied.