Prince Harry sparks fury as lawyer blasts 'not having time' to cross-examine royal in major development

Prince Harry

The Duke of Sussex will not appear in the High Court today

PA
Svar Nanan-Sen

By Svar Nanan-Sen


Published: 05/06/2023

- 11:14

Updated: 05/06/2023

- 12:14

The Duke of Sussex will not appear in the High Court today

Prince Harry has sparked fury from the lawyer representing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) by not arriving at court today.

The Duke of Sussex was scheduled to give evidence in person today during his phone-hacking case against MGN.


However, the royal will now give evidence in person for the first time tomorrow, having flown from the US late on Sunday evening.

Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, stated that he needs at least one and a half days to cross-examine Harry on all aspects of his claim.

Prince Harry

The royal will now give evidence in person for the first time tomorrow

PA

Green said: "That can not be done in one day."

The lawyer added that he was "deeply troubled" that Harry would not be attending before Tuesday and that it could lead to "wasted time" today.

The honourable Mr Justice Fancourt, who is presiding over the case, also expressed frustration that the royal will not be giving evidence in person and stated that it was planned for Harry to give evidence from today onwards and he should have been available.

The judge said he was "a little surprised" by Prince Harry's absence.

Harry's barrister David Sherborne told the judge that the royal flew from Los Angeles on Sunday evening after attending his daughter Lilibet's birthday.

He said: "The Duke of Sussex is attending tomorrow to give evidence.

"He flew yesterday evening from Los Angeles where he attended his daughter’s birthday."

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter turned two on June 4.

Prince Harry and Meghan Markle

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's daughter turned two on June 4.

PA

Notably, Lilibet did not receive any public tributes from senior members of the monarchy to mark the occasion.

Last month, Prince Harry rushed back from King Charles's Coronation to the US in order to celebrate his son Archie's birthday.

Harry did not join senior members of the Royal Family at Buckingham Palace to watch the flypast following the historic ceremony.

Instead, the Duke of Sussex darted to Heathrow Airport to catch his flight home.

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