The court battle between Prince Harry and Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group at London's High Court was delayed on Tuesday to allow last-minute discussions between the lawyers of both sides.
Prince Harry and former senior lawmaker Tom Watson are suing News Group Newspapers for alleged unlawful activities conducted by journalists and private investigators working for its papers, the Sun and the now-closed News of the World, from 1996 to 2011. During what was supposed to be the beginning of an eight-week trial, Prince Harry and Watson's lawyer, David Sherborne, requested additional time from Judge Timothy Fancourt without providing further details.
Following an hour-long delay, Sherborne asked for more time for discussions.
Judge Fancourt agreed, stating, "I'm willing to provide further time. It has to be the last adjournment. If you haven't reached an agreement by lunchtime (1300 GMT), we will start at 2 (1400 GMT)."
Prince Harry emphasized that his purpose is not financial but to seek the truth, expressing, "One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability because I'm the last person that can actually achieve that." He is anticipated to testify in February.
News Group Newspapers has settled numerous lawsuits related to phone-hacking and other illegal information gathering and disputes the allegations of unlawful activity at the Sun.
The upcoming eight-week trial will initially address general issues, such as the prevalence of phone-hacking and illegal information gathering at the newspapers.
Prince Harry's legal team contends that top executives and editors were aware of widespread unlawful behavior, misled authorities, provided false statements during a public inquiry into media ethics, and orchestrated a substantial cover-up through email deletions.
A spokesperson for News Group Newspapers responded denying the allegations, stating, "NGN will call upon a range of witnesses including technologists, lawyers, and senior staff to rebut the claim."