Prince Ricardo De La Cerda
PRINCE Harry arrived at court smiling this morning as he made a surprise appearance to attend a privacy hearing.
The Duke of Sussex, 38, walked into the High Court in London surrounded by bodyguards.
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Harry is back in the UK over alleged unlawful information-gathering by Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which owns titles including the Daily Mail and MailOnline.
ANL strongly denies the allegations.
Members of the press and public gathered outside to see the Duke of Sussex, who was in seemingly high spirits.
One photographer bumped into the royal before he was swiftly pushed to the side by security.
The shock appearance comes after the Prince complained that visiting the UK was hard due to security concerns.
Harry and Meghan voiced fears over their safety after leaving the firm.
And the couple are yet to decide whether they will attend King Charles’ coronation in May.
This is also the first time Harry is back on home soil since the Queen’s funeral.
It is not known whether Meghan and kids Archie, 3, and Lilibet, 1, have made the journey.
It’s understood a trip to see the King and brother William will not be on the cards during Harry’s brief visit.
Buckingham Palace said Charles is not in Windsor or London today.
Meanwhile the Prince and Princess of Wales are away with their family for the Easter break.
Last year Harry won a court battle against the Mail on Sunday for defamation.
He sued after the paper ran a story about his separate High Court claim regarding his UK security arrangements.
The piece published in February 2022 was under the headline: “Exclusive: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret… then – just minutes after the story broke – his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute.”
The publisher today is also up against Sir Elton John and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
The celebrities announced in October they were bringing claims for misuse of private information against the company.
However, ANL hit back at the allegations, describing them at the time as “preposterous smears” and a “pre-planned and orchestrated attempt to drag the Mail titles into the phone-hacking scandal”.
A spokesperson for ANL also said the allegations were “unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence”.
As the hearing started around 10.30am, Harry sat at the back of the courtroom making notes in a black book.
As he jotted away, the Prince shook his head at some of the Associated News Ltd’s barristers comments.
The four-day preliminary hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice begins today.
The Duke is also taking legal action against the Home Office over security arrangements when he is in the country.