Exiled royal Prince Harry made a surprise appearance in the UK Monday, smiling at photographers as he arrived at a court hearing into his privacy.
The jet-setting, California-based youngest son of King Charles III shocked waiting press when he unexpectedly jumped out of a limo at London’s High Court ahead of a hearing against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
“Good morning,” the 38-year-old Duke of Sussex said brightly with a big smile — briefly bumping into a photographer while marching into court.
Harry did not need to be in court for the routine preliminary hearing in which Associated Newspapers is attempting to throw out a lawsuit brought by the prince and six others, including Elizabeth Hurley and Elton John.
Monday’s hearing is not expected to hear from any of the famous claimants accusing the Mail and its sister publications of phone-tapping and other breaches of privacy.
Fellow accuser Sadie Frost, the actress ex-wife of Jude Law, was also in court, where Harry sat just feet away from a large group of reporters.
“Absolutely nobody was expecting this because really there is no need for Prince Harry to be appearing in court this week,” said Sky News correspondent Katie Spencer, one of the reporters at court Monday.
“He didn’t actually need to go through the main entrance here,” she said of the unnecessary fanfare the privacy-loving prince sparked.
“He clearly does want to make it known that this is very important to him,” she said of the lawsuit being debated.
Harry has sued his homeland’s government for not providing enough security for him to feel safe coming to the UK. It was not clear what had changed for his unneeded court appearance.
According to The Telegraph, Harry made contact with his estranged dad ahead of his trip home but was told the king was “busy.” Charles was due in France, but the trip — his first overseas as monarch — was scrapped last week over ongoing riots.
It is unlikely he will see his brother, Prince William, because the heir apparent and his family are away for the school holidays.
Monday’s hearing was the start of legal arguments — expected to last four days — in which the publisher is attempting to get the lawsuit tossed ahead of trial.
The accusers allege they were victims of “numerous unlawful acts” carried out by the Daily Mail and the Mail on Sunday, including phone hacking and “even commissioning the breaking and entry into private property,” according to extracts of submissions made to the court.
The alleged activity ran from 1993 to 2011, “even continuing beyond until 2018,” the lawyers said.
Associated Newspapers has said it “utterly and unambiguously” denies the allegations.
It has described them as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone hacking scandal.”
Harry is already involved in a libel case against the Mail on Sunday over an article about his security arrangements — a case the paper is also contesting. Last year, he won damages from the same paper after another defamation claim involving his military service.
His wife, Meghan Markle, also won a privacy case against the publisher in 2021 for printing a letter she had written to her estranged father.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex repeatedly blamed media intrusion as a key reason for them fleeing royal life and settling in California.
They also accused Harry’s royal family of conspiring with the press to sway coverage in a way that left them attacked to make other royals look good.
With Post wires