First British royal in 130 years to testify in court

This morning, the youngest son of King Charles III arrived in court to testify against the publisher of the British tabloid Daily Mirror. Harry accuses a number of media outlets of illegally gathering information through phone tapping.

Reuters quoted David Sherborne, Prince Harry's barrister, as saying "These newspapers have invaded Harry's life using illegal methods, and it is the use of these methods by a national media group that has brought him here..."

Today, Prince Harry will take the witness stand, thus becoming the first British royal in 130 years to testify in court.

Harry was supposed to arrive in court on Monday, June 5, but "circumstances prevented him from doing so." According to the prince's barrister, David Sherborne, Harry flew out of his estate in Los Angeles on Sunday evening, after celebrating his daughter Lilibet’s second birthday. However, the Prince's trip and security measures were "complicated".

So far, more than 100 high-profile figures are suing Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, alleging wrongdoings between 1991 and 2011.

At the beginning of the trial, the publisher of British tabloid the Daily Mirror acknowledged that it had once illegally sought information about Prince Harry. However, it denied allegations of any other illegal activity against the royal family.

The trial began last month, when David Sherborne, the barrister for the Prince and three other plaintiffs, sought to prove that the illegal information gathering was approved by senior editors and executives of MGN-owned media. Sherborne also emphasized that almost 2,500 articles about Harry's private life were published during the period under consideration in court.

MGN has previously admitted that its publication was involved in wiretapping. Then the company settled 600 lawsuits for a total of more than £100 million ($120 million), compensating the victims for the damage caused.