The judge in Prince Harry‘s case against the Mirror organisation chastised his attorney for failing to appear in court.
This morning, when the Duke of Sussex’s solo lawsuit against the Daily Mirror publisher got underway, he was anticipated to show up in the High Court.
Harry won’t appear until Tuesday, according to his attorney David Sherborne, when a barrister for Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) is likely to interrogate him.
Mr Sherborne said Harry flew to England from the US late on Sunday night as he had spent the day celebrating his daughter Lilibet’s second birthday.
He added Harry is ‘obviously in a different category’ to other witnesses due to his travel and security arrangements, The Telegraph reports.
The judge hearing the case, Mr Justice Fancourt, appeared visibly irritated but said diplomatically that he was ‘a little surprised’ the duke wouldn’t be attending.
Mr Justice Fancourt previously said witnesses should be available the day before their evidence was due to be heard.
Andrew Green KC, representing MGN, said he was ‘deeply troubled’ that Harry wouldn’t be attending before Tuesday, which could lead to ‘wasted time’ this afternoon.
Mr Green described the move as ‘extraordinary’ and said he wanted to spend at least a day and a half cross-examining the prince.
Harry is suing MGN for damages, claiming journalists at its titles were linked to methods including phone backing, ‘blagging’ or gaining information by deception, and the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
His claim is being heard alongside three others.