Why is Prince Harry back in London? Duke of Sussex arrives for hearing with Elton John

Prince Harry was recently spotted in London, which led to speculations about the reason for his visit. However, it has now been revealed that he went to London's High Court for a privacy hearing against Associated Newspapers Limited.

On the morning of March 27, Prince Harry appeared at the court, where singer Elton John was also present for similar reasons. Harry and John, alongside actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, sued the company on charges of unlawful information gathering.

The trial began on Monday and Prince Harry was spotted sitting at the back of the courtroom and taking notes in a small black notebook. This also marks Harry's visit to London after September 2022 when he arrived for the funeral of the late Queen Elizabeth II with his wife Meghan Markle.

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Why Prince Harry and others sued Associated Newspapers Limited?

A statement by law firm Hamlins revealed that Prince Harry, Elton John, Sadie Frost, and Liz Hurley filed a lawsuit after realizing that they were the victims of criminal activity and privacy breaches by Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

According to the group's attorney David Sherborne, the company intercepted voicemail messages, listened to landline calls, and acquired private information like phone bills and medical records without anyone's permission. This was all reportedly done with the assistance of private investigators, as per the Deccan Herald.

Sherborne said that the details of the group's private life were obtained between 1993 and 2011 and continued until 2018. In a written submission, Sherborne mentioned that ANL was involved in these illegal activities so that they could publish unlawful articles about famous personalities.

According to BBC, he added:

"They are also mortified to consider all their conversations, some of which were very personal indeed, were tapped, taped, packaged and consumed as a commercial product for journalists and unknown others to pick over, regardless of whether or not they were published."

Sherborne mentioned that the group's privacy at their residences was violated and their family members were also targeted through "unlawful acts designed to steal and exploit their information."

According to an ANL spokesperson, these were "unsubstantiated and highly defamatory claims, based on no credible evidence." Attorneys for ANL said that the lawsuit was filed too late and must be dismissed, and the company's barrister Adrian Beltrami said:

"The claimants have failed to show that they have a real prospect of discharging their burden at trial and the court should not hesitate to dismiss these stale claims at an early stage, thereby avoiding what would otherwise be a considerable waste of time, costs and the court's resources."

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Prince Harry has also sued ANL in the past

Prince Harry filed a lawsuit against ANL in February 2022. This came after one of their publications shared a story about his High Court case against the UK's Home Office concerning security arrangements when he and his family visited the country.

His attorneys argued at the time that the news piece stated that he lied and improperly and cynically tried to manipulate and confuse public opinion. ANL's barristers claimed that there was no hint of impropriety in any sensible reading of the article. The judge declared in July 2022 that certain portions of the article were defamatory.

Harry was recently in the news after the release of his Netflix docuseries and his memoir Spare, which revealed a lot of unknown details about the family. Harry and Meghan Markle are now reportedly planning to attend King Charles' coronation ceremony, which is scheduled to be held at Westminster Abbey on May 6 this year.