Prince Harry set to give evidence at London's High Court

Prince Harry is due to give evidence at London's High Court next Thursday.

The Duke of Sussex will be appearing in support of privacy lawsuits brought by him, singer Elton John and several other high-profile British figures against the publisher of the Daily Mail.

It will be the prince's second court appearance in three years, having become the first British royal to give evidence in 130 years in 2023 in a separate lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers, which he won.

Prince Harry is suing Associated Newspapers over alleged unlawful information gathering, dating back 30 years.

The six other claimants are John, John's husband David Furnish, actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, former lawmaker Simon Hughes and anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence, who sits in the House of Lords.

Associated Newspapers rejects any wrongdoing by its titles, saying there is no basis to what it describes as the claimants' "preposterous smears" against its journalists.

The nine-week trial starts on Monday and will see the claimants give evidence at London's High Court.

Prince Harry will be in the witness box on 22 January, according to a draft trial timetable made public on Thursday.

The case is the last brought by the Prince and his wife, Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, against media organisations since 2019, in what he has described as his mission to rid the British press of executives and editors who abused their power.

Last year, he settled his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper arm, News Group Newspapers, accepting an apology and damages for privacy breaches against him and his late mother, Princess Diana.