Hot off the back of King Charles offering Prince Harry and Meghan Markle an olive branch, Prince William and Princess Catherine have seemingly taken things in the opposite direction by subtly snubbing Harry ahead of his upcoming UK visit next week.
Prince William’s younger brother will be returning to London as part of his court case against the Associated Newspapers, which owns The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline.
Associated Newspapers has denied any wrongdoing when it comes to the allegations of illegal news-gathering tactics levelled by the royal and his co-claimants (Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Liz Hurley, Elton John, David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes and Sadie Frost Law).
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The case marks Prince Harry’s third major showdown with the press, following his high-profile victory against the Mirror publisher and a settlement with The Sun’s publisher that included an admission of “unlawful activities”.
The case will kick off in the High Court next Monday, but the Waleses have ensured their diary is fully booked.
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Instead, as Harry touches down in the UK, William and Kate will be heading hundreds of miles north for a visit to Scotland, where they plan to stop by the National Curling Academy in Stirling to chat to Great Britain’s Olympic and Paralympic curling teams (who are busy training for the Winter Olympic Games and Winter Paralympic Games).
Next, the Waleses will be visiting Radical Weavers, a textiles studio and charity, to learn about the history of Scottish tartan and how the organisation gives back to the community.
As for Harry’s court case, according to documents Associated Newspapers have denied “all the allegations of unlawful activity in respect of each claimant, including phone hacking, phone tapping, blagging, or commissioning private investigators to target them.
“Specifically, Associated denies in respect of each claimant (a) that its journalists engaged in or commissioned unlawful acts; (b) using information obtained through illegal means; (c) misusing each claimant’s private information; or (d) commissioning or paying the pleaded TPIs [third party investigators].”
The filing added, “Associated does admit that, prior to April 2007, some journalists used search/enquiry agents to obtain contact details, but not for illegal purposes. Associated’s case is that use of private investigators ceased in 2007.”
It also sounds unlikely that Harry will get a chance to see his father during his UK visit, given that the King is prone to keep his distance from any ongoing legal proceedings.
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