Prince Harry emerged from the High Court on Monday afternoon, wearing a confident smile that suggested he already felt the first round was his.
The first day of the high-stakes privacy battle with publishers Daily Mail saw hours of detailed presentations, but the Duke of Sussex seemed unfazed.
The proceedings, overseen by Judge Nicklin, will resume on Tuesday at 10:30 a.m., with Harry expected to return to court later this week to give evidence himself.
At the heart of the case are complaints filed by seven public figures against Associated Newspapers Limited, the company behind the Daily Mail and Sunday Mail.
Monday’s hearing saw lawyer David Sherborne begin to lay out what he described as a pattern dating back more than two decades.
Speaking on behalf of the plaintiffs, he alleged that private investigators were constantly being used around the world. Email titles and named several people who he believed were linked to this practice.
Among the examples mentioned, that of an investigator who would have been responsible for obtaining information about a burglary at the home of the queen’s cousin.
Sherborne also referred to Jonathan Rees, a private detective once known for boasting about the reach of his information network.
According to him, Rees had shown particular interest in the murder of Stephen Lawrence because of the intense public attention surrounding the case.
The court then looked at the individual applications, filed for the first time in October 2022.
The case of Baroness Lawrence revolves around five articles published between the end of the 1990s and 2007.
Attention then shifted to actress Sadie Frost, whose claims focus on 11 stories and two specific incidents.
Three journalists are mainly named in these articles.
One draft, written but never published, concerned an ectopic pregnancy suffered by Frost in 2003.
Sherborne told the court the level of detail contained in the documents was deeply personal, emphasizing that even members of Frost’s own family were not aware of the situation.
As proceedings stopped for the day, Prince Harry and Liz Hurley were both seen leaving the court with smiles.
Sherborne is expected to continue laying out the remaining claims when the hearing resumes, before the editors present their own opening arguments.
