Prince Harry's legal action against the publisher of The Sun newspaper, over allegations of unlawful information gathering, is due to begin today. The Duke of Sussex is one of two claimants, alongside former Labour deputy leader Tom Watson, who are continuing their claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN).
NGN has always denied unlawful activity at The Sun. The claim is separate to the phone hacking case Harry brought against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which was heard by the High Court in 2023. The court ruled that phone hacking was carried out by MGN journalists from 1996 to 2011, and was "widespread and habitual" from 1998.
The newspaper publisher agreed last year to pay "a substantial additional sum" in damages to the duke, as well as his legal costs - on top of the £140,600 already awarded to him by judges. So how is this trial different, and what can we expect to happen in court?.
Who is involved?. Prince Harry and Lord Watson are the only two claimants going forward with legal action against the publisher. The court was told back in November that 39 cases have been settled since a hearing last July. This includes actor Hugh Grant, actress Sienna Miller, ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, comic Catherine Tate and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm.
Harry told a New York Times summit at the end of last year that one of the main reasons he was pursuing the case was because the others "had to settle". Other names you may hear in court are David Sherborne, the lawyer representing Harry, and Mr Justice Fancourt, the judge presiding over the case.
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