In the battle between Prince Harry and Associated Newspapers, appearing at court in person looks like the ultimate power play.
The prince has thrown down a gauntlet to a newspaper group he believes has made his life hell and which, he and others claim, used illegal means to do so.
His appearance at London’s High Court today took many by surprise.
But it was less of a shock to anyone who has followed his battles with the media, and specifically the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
After all, Harry has vowed to make reform of the press his “life’s work”.
If you want a sense of his priorities, this is it: a prince, estranged from his family and now living more than 5,000 miles from London, who flies in from LA to walk through those historic doors of the Royal Courts of Justice and into Court 76.
We still do not know if he will attend his father’s coronation. We do know he wanted to be in court for what are really early stages of this particular case.
Prince Harry does not mince his words when it comes to the media.
In his autobiography, Spare, he refers to “a dreadful mob of dweebs and crones and cut-rate criminals and clinically diagnosable sadists along Fleet Street”.
He has them in his sights. Turning up at court was as much about optics as open justice.
The response by the press to his arrival is also fascinating.
The Sun online had the story at the top of its website, splashing with the headline “Day in Court. Smiling Harry makes surprise London appearance…”.
The Times, Guardian and Telegraph also put the story high up on their digital services.
Mail Online had, shall we say, other news priorities.
Users had to scroll a long way down Mail Online to find the story about the duke’s appearance in court over what it termed “hacking claims” against its parent company.
Technically, hacking does not actually cover it. The claims are much wider.
The case has not yet reached trial. This week is all about legal argument.
If it does eventually go to a full trial, it will be a hugely significant moment.
The seven claimants (not just Prince Harry, but also Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sadie Frost Law, Sir Simon Hughes and Elizabeth Hurley) allege serious criminal activity by Associated Newspapers.
If true, this is even worse than phone hacking.
The allegations include the use of bugging devices put inside people’s cars and homes, surreptitious listening in to private phone calls as they were happening, impersonating people to get private information and other “gross breaches of privacy” according to the claimants’ lawyers.
Associated Newspapers categorically denies all this and says it will vigorously defend itself “if that proves necessary”.
The pre-trial hearing this week is thrashing out whether the case can go ahead and whether the evidence being relied on by the claimants can be used.
It was not only Prince Harry who turned up today. With a notepad and bottle of water on the table in front of him, he sat two seats from his fellow claimant Frost Law. Sir Elton and Baroness Lawrence also attended in the afternoon.
Given the seriousness of the claims and the high profile of those involved, there is huge interest in this hearing – and not enough room in court to hold everyone.
Journalists like me and my producer have been given permission to watch the proceedings remotely, via a video link, under a strict court order.
The BBC also has correspondent Tom Symonds actually in court, splitting his time between the courtroom and the Strand outside, to broadcast from the live cameras there.
Also in court is a barrister representing the BBC, the Guardian, ITN and Reuters, to put the case for these media organisations when it comes to the reporting restrictions being discussed.
By turning up, Prince Harry has sent a clear message to Associated Newspapers. He wants to be the visible face of this action.
He is also part of forthcoming cases against other media organisations.
In May, a trial will begin against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) which owns the Daily Mirror, over accusations of phone hacking between 1996 and 2011. MGN disputes the claims made by Prince Harry, former Girls Aloud singer Cheryl and the estate of George Michael amongst others.
The duke is also trying to bring a case against News Group Newspapers, which owns the Sun and the now defunct News of the World.
As he walked into court today, Prince Harry was surrounded by cameras.
I could not help wondering if one of them was his. After all, the Netflix documentary ‘Harry & Meghan’ was reported to be the second most successful documentary series in the streamer’s history.
What better follow up, for a prince still locked into a deal with Netflix, than a series that charts his battle to take on the press?
Harry 2: This Time It’s Personal.
It has a certain ring to it.
