Prince Harry did not make an appearance in court on the first day of his trial against The Daily Mirror on Monday.
Harry’s lawyer said the Duke of Sussex would be unavailable to testify following opening statements, per the Associated Press. The royal had been reportedly taking a flight from Los Angeles to London following the birthday of his 2-year-old daughter, Lilibet, on Sunday.
“I’m a little surprised,” Justice Timothy Fancourt said. The publication noted that Fancourt had instructed Prince Harry to be present for the first day of the trial. He was scheduled to testify Tuesday, but the judge told him to be there Monday in case opening statements concluded before the day’s end, per AP.
Mirror Group attorney Andrew Green said he was “deeply troubled” by the Duke of Sussex skipping the first day.
Prince Harry currently has several lawsuits pending against various tabloid publications. The royal claims they used unlawful methods to obtain information about him and his wife Meghan Markle, including phone hacking and other illegal methods of investigation.
Harry accused the British Press of “vicious, persistent attacks” on Meghan, including the publication of racist articles. The royal family member also claims their relentless pursuit was a major reason he and Meghan chose to leave the U.K. for California and resign from their roles as senior working royals in 2020.
The prince also claims that members of the press are responsible for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997. She died from injuries sustained during a car crash in Paris while being pursued by the paparazzi.
“There was no time in his life when he was safe from these activities,” Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne said. “Nothing was sacrosanct or out of bounds.”
The Duke of Sussex is suing Mirror Group Newspapers, Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, and Associated Newspapers Ltd., owner of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. Harry claims these three companies paid people to use illegal methods to spy on him.
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Prince Harry will be the first member of the British royal family in more than a century to testify in court, the outlet noted. The last time was when Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Prince Albert Edward (the future King Edward VII), testified twice in 1898.
Albert Edward testified in the divorce proceedings of a woman with whom he was accused of having an affair, which he denied, and again during a slander case involving a man who allegedly cheated at cards.