Prince Harry has arrived at the High Court in London for the opening of a major privacy trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail, marking the start of a legal battle expected to

run for 10 weeks.

The Duke of Sussex, who flew in from California for the proceedings, is the first witness to give evidence in the case against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), which publishes the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. The trial is estimated to cost around £38 million and is one of the most high-profile media cases in recent years.

Harry is one of seven claimants bringing legal action against the newspaper group. He is joined by Baroness Doreen Lawrence, the mother of murdered teenager Stephen Lawrence; Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish; model Elizabeth Hurley; actress Sadie Frost; and former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Simon Hughes.

The claimants allege that journalists working for ANL were involved in a wide range of unlawful information-gathering practices dating back as far as 1997. These include phone hacking, listening in on private landline calls, and “blagging” confidential information such as medical records, financial details and private phone numbers.

An earlier allegation — that the newspapers commissioned burglaries or break-ins to obtain private information — was struck out by the court at a preliminary hearing last year.

Associated Newspapers has strongly denied all claims, describing them as false and unfounded. The company has filed what it calls a robust defence of its journalism, insisting there was no unlawful conduct by its reporters.

Prince Harry arrived at the Royal Courts of Justice shortly after 10am, entering through a rear entrance accompanied by his solicitor, Callum Galbraith. He is scheduled to give evidence throughout Thursday.

Opening statements in the case are being delivered today and tomorrow by David Sherborne, barrister for the claimants, who will spend around a day and a half outlining their arguments. The claimants’ case is expected to take about three weeks to present in full.

Central to several of the claims is former private investigator Gavin Burrows, who the claimants say admitted to carrying out illegal activities on behalf of the newspapers. Mr Burrows has since denied ever working for Associated Newspapers and says a witness statement attributed to him was not written by him and bears a forged signature.

Mr Burrows has been summoned to appear as a witness and is due to give evidence in early February, although it remains unclear whether he will attend in person. He has asked to testify via video link from abroad.

At a pre-trial hearing last week, Mr Sherborne told the court that Prince Harry’s legal team was facing “exceptionally serious” accusations from the publisher, including allegations of fraud, dishonesty and conspiracy. He said ANL’s opening submissions accused specific lawyers of misleading the court.

All seven claimants are expected to take the witness stand and face questioning from barristers representing Associated Newspapers. Their supporting witnesses include actor Jude Law, the former husband of Sadie Frost.

Once the claimants’ evidence concludes, the court will hear from more than 40 witnesses called by Associated Newspapers. Journalists from the titles will be questioned about how stories were sourced, as the publisher continues to deny any involvement in unlawful information gathering. The defence case is scheduled to run until mid-March.

The trial is being overseen by Mr Justice Nicklin, who is expected to deliver his ruling later this year. Photo by Mark Jones, Wikimedia commons.