Prince Harry's phone hacking trial against the publisher of the Daily Mirror kicked off Monday without him present -- and the judge was not happy.
Harry’s lawyer said the Duke of Sussex would not be available to testify after opening statements because he caught a flight back from Los Angeles on Sunday after the birthday of his 2-year-old daughter, Lilibet.
Harry originally was scheduled to testify Tuesday. His lawyer was told last week the duke should attend the trial Monday in case the opening statements concluded before the end of the day. Harry will be the first member of the British royal family in more than a century to testify in court. He is expected to describe his anguish and anger over being hounded by the media throughout his life, and its impact on those around him.
Harry said in court documents that the reports made him wonder who he could trust as he feared friends and associates were betraying him by leaking information to the newspapers. His circle of friends grew smaller and he suffered “huge bouts of depression and paranoia.” Relationships fell apart as the women in his life – and even their family members – were “dragged into the chaos.”
Phone hacking that involved guessing or obtaining security codes to listen in on celebrities’ cell phone voice messages was widespread at British tabloids in the early years of this century. It became an existential crisis for the industry after the revelation in 2011 that the News of the World had hacked the phone of a slain 13-year-old girl.
In the first part, attorney David Sherborne, who represents Harry and the other claimants, including two actors from the soap opera “Coronation Street,” said the unlawful acts were “widespread and habitual” at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, and carried out on “an industrial scale.”
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