Prince Harry hates the British tabloid press, but he knows how to grab a headline.
His unexpected arrival at London’s High Court guaranteed all lenses were on him.
For once, he wants to be the centre of the media attention.
Prince Harry court case – live: Royal unexpectedly turns up
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He declared in a recent interview, his “life’s work” will be his mission to change the media landscape.
We are beginning to understand exactly what that means.
By coming to court, Harry is positioning himself as the poster boy of privacy cases.
He’s involved in three separate litigations, taking on the tabloids head-on.
The cases, which are against the publishers of the Daily Mail, The Sun and The Mirror, all hinge on the alleged use of phone hacking and bugging devices to illegally obtain information for stories.
The Duke of Sussex is one of many high-profile people to bring the claims, which the newspapers all deny.
Many claimants have settled out of court because the sums offered mean they can’t afford not to.
But for Harry, it’s not about the money. It’s about exposing the truth, and the newspaper executives he believes were complicit.
This is unprecedented territory. You simply don’t get members of the royal family turning up at court.
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But we already know just how much this means to Harry.
In his memoir, Spare, he recalls his father telling him it was a “suicide mission” taking on the press.
But Harry writes: “I’d soon prove that the press were more than liars, I said. That they were lawbreakers. I was going to see some of them thrown into jail.”
Read more:
Prince Harry v Associated Newspapers
This is his first time back in Britain since the Queen‘s funeral.
We still don’t know if he’ll attend the King’s coronation in May, but there’s little chance of a family reconciliation with this visit.
We’re told both Prince William and the King, who was supposed to be in France for his now-cancelled state visit, are out of London.
