Prince Harry's legal war with the British press over alleged phone hacking is coming to a head this week when a trial is set to start ... and where he might even take the stand early.
The Duke of Sussex is reportedly expected to appear in a London court this upcoming week, and the word is ... he might even testify as early as Tuesday. The case being heard stems from a lawsuit he and others have filed against the parent company of the Daily Mirror.
This is just of a handful of publications he's suing ... all of which revolved around allegations of phone hacking, invasion of privacy and, effectively, spying on him and other members of the Royal Family dating back several years -- something PH is trying to rectify now.
Prince Harry, Elton John Sue Associated Newspapers for Alleged Phone Tapping
The Daily Mirror case is going to be hashed out in court first, and Harry's likely testimony could actually be historic -- as he'll be the first senior Royal (or ex, rather) to testify in court as a witness offering evidence like this in a long time.
The last time it happened was way back in 1891, when King Edward VII (before he was actually king) testified in a slander case.
What Harry's suing over, in this particular case, is 33 of 150 stories about himself that the Daily Mirror published between 1995 and 2011 -- a period of time from which he claims these stories were produced via illegal tactics in Britain ... like alleged phone hacking, etc.
The Mirror has actually conceded in court docs that Harry and co. have a point about some unethical tactics they've employed over time, but they haven't fessed up on these specific stories he's citing. As such, he's dragging them into court to have it heard before a judge.
You'll recall ... Harry showed up across the pond back in March for another case he's pursuing against yet another tabloid parent company -- namely, Associated Newspapers, which publishes and distributes the Daily Mail, among other publications.
Prince Harry, Elton John Arrive to Court for Associated Newspapers Lawsuit
In that case, Elton John is a plaintiff as well ... as are other celebrities taking up Harry's cause in solidarity.
Like we said, he's suing a bunch of them -- and seems determined to take them all down ... one by one. If he's testifying for the Daily Mirror case, presumably he'll testify in others.
All eyes on Harold. 👀
We covered it all in the latest episode of The TMZ Podcast, available on all podcast platforms.