<\/p>\n
The King, who tends to take a break from public duties for most of January, will almost certainly be in Scotland on the dates in question. But more pertinently, royal sources acknowledge that he has no wish to be linked to any court proceedings, meaning that on this occasion, he would prefer to give his younger son a wide berth.<\/p>\n
The claimant\u2019s barrister, David Sherborne, has told all seven claimants to attend the opening of the trial in a \u201cshow of strength\u201d.<\/p>\n
If he gets his wish, Sir Elton, his husband David Furnish, Liz Hurley, Baroness Lawrence, Sadie Frost and Sir Simon Hughes will take their seats in Court 73.<\/p>\n
The nine-week trial, which is projected to cost more than \u00a338m, will hear them accuse Associated Newspapers Limited of hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, \u201cblag\u201d private records and access private phone conversations.<\/p>\n
The publisher has described the allegations as \u201clurid\u201d and \u201csimply preposterous\u201d.<\/p>\n
The Duke is expected to draw on his experience of giving evidence during his High Court claim against Mirror Group Newspapers in 2023, when he became the first senior member of the Royal family to testify in court in 130 years.<\/p>\n
He will also be hoping to replicate the outcome after claiming a victory in almost half of his claims against the publisher, with the judge finding evidence of \u201cwidespread and habitual\u201d use of phone hacking<\/a> at the Mirror newspapers.<\/p>\n Prince Harry was awarded \u00a3140,600 in damages, and described it as a \u201cgreat day for truth\u201d and accountability.<\/p>\n The Duke was not in the UK when his claim against News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun, was settled on the eve of a separate planned trial in January last year.<\/p>\n