A judge expressed his "surprise" over the Duke of Sussex's absence from the High Court as his individual case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror over alleged unlawful information gathering got underway.
Harry was expected to arrive at court today, but his lawyers told the court he will not appear until Tuesday when he is due to face cross-examination from MGN's barrister. David Sherborne, representing the Duke and the other claimants, said that Harry had flown to the UK from Los Angeles, California, on Sunday night, as he was celebrating his daughter Lilibet's second birthday that day.
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Mr Justice Fancourt, the judge hearing the case, said he was "a little surprised" to hear the Duke would not be attending court today.
The judge said he gave a direction earlier in the trial that witnesses should be available the day before their evidence was due to be heard, in case the legal teams' opening speeches ran short. Harry, 38, is suing MGN for damages, claiming journalists at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People allegedly used unlawful information gathering and for the use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
His claim is being heard alongside three other "representative" claims during a trial which began last month and is due to last for six to seven weeks.
Andrew Green KC, for MGN, said he wished to have at least a day and a half to cross-examine the Duke and was "deeply troubled" he would not be attending before today, which may lead to "wasted time" this afternoon.
Harry alleges about 140 articles published between 1996 and 2010 contained information gathered using unlawful methods, and 33 of these have been selected to be considered at the trial.
Opening Harry's individual case, Mr Sherborne said that "the ends justified the means" for MGN and that details about Harry's life were "a story too good not to publish".