Perhaps birthdays shouldn’t be prioritized so much?!
Prince Harry caused a fuss back in May when he jetted in and out of England for his father King Charles III‘s coronation for around 24 hours total because he was determined to make it back home for his son Prince Archie‘s birthday. And now he’s put his kids above his other responsibilities again — and it could hurt him!
Parents, we’re damned if we do and damned if we don’t!
On Monday, the Duke of Sussex was expected to appear in court for the first day of his trial against Mirror Group Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Daily Express, but he was a no-show!
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According to ET sources, Harry’s lawyer explained he was traveling overnight from Los Angeles to London after celebrating his daughter Princess Lilibet‘s second birthday at home on Sunday with his wife, Meghan Markle. Because of this, he wasn’t going to make it to court until Tuesday — despite specific orders otherwise!
A source told the outlet that Justice Timothy Fancourt was “surprised” by the 38-year-old’s absence since he asked specifically that the royal be present for the first day as the first witness, should there be time for testimony. The insider dished:
“Prince Harry did not show up for the first day he was expected to testify at the court proceeding against the Mirror Newspaper group this morning. His lawyer David Sherbourne told the court that Prince Harry had flown overnight to London after celebrating Princess Lilibet’s birthday.”
The judge reportedly said:
“I’m a little surprised that the first witness is not going to be available today.”
He added:
“That’s why I directed the first witness should be available.”
Harry’s camp tried to defend him, saying he was “in a different category than the other three claimants because of his travel arrangements and security arrangements.” Okayyy… but it’s not like this was an unexpected trip! He’s had time to plan properly. Just saying!
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Harry is set to be the first royal to testify in court in over a century!! He is claiming the newspaper used methods like phone hacking to illegally obtain information about his life for various articles. His team revealed in their opening arguments via a source:
“Harry’s lawyer said in opening arguments that Harry’s phone, ‘would have been hacked on multiple occasions.’ Some of the hacking allegations come during Piers Morgan’s stewardship as editor of The Mirror. The lawyer continued that there had been unlawful information gathering since the time he was young stating, ‘No time of his life where he was safe from these activities and the impact they caused.'”
Per the AP, the lawyer went on:
“The ends justify the means for the defendant. There was no time in his life when he was safe from these activities. Nothing was sacrosanct or out of bounds and there was no protection from these unlawful information-gathering methods.”
Meanwhile, the Mirror’s team argued Harry was “wasting” the courts time by not showing up, even calling his absence “absolutely extraordinary,” per Us Weekly. Attorney Andrew Green said he was “deeply troubled” by the Spare author not making an appearance. Yeesh… This is definitely going to hurt Harry’s case a bit!
As we’ve been covering, the publisher is denying ever using phone hacking methods to report on Harry, though they have apologized for hiring a private investigator for a 2004 story. This is just one of several lawsuits Harry is engaged with against various outlets. While in the country, he is not expected to see his father, who is away on a royal tour. Thoughts? Let us know (below)!
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