Prince Harry had 'no idea' Prince William would be dragged into his court case

Prince Harry "had no idea" Prince William would be dragged into his latest court case, a source has claimed. The Duke of Sussex is one of a group of seven high-profile individuals bringing legal action against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) for alleged privacy breaches.

Written submissions given to the High Court on Wednesday named the Prince of Wales and alleged that his 21st birthday party could have been "blagged" by a private investigator. They were made by David Sherborne, a barrister for the group of high-profile individuals, including the Duke.

But a source close to Harry insisted he was not "personally dragging" his brother into court and was "not aware" that details relating to William would be presented as part of the evidence of the general claim.

The source told The Telegraph that the Duke was "not responsible for the arguments, evidence gathered and presented in disclosure or comments" made by his barrister.

Harry, along with Sir Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and Liz Hurley, have accused the publisher of allegedly carrying out or commissioning unlawful activities such as hiring private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, "blagging" private records, commissioning burglary to order, and accessing private phone conversations.

ANL firmly denies the allegations and is defending the legal action, previously describing the claims as "lurid" and "simply preposterous".

The invoice relating to Prince William is dated August 25 2003 and was entitled "Out of Africa Story Royal Party Enqs", according to Harry's lawyer.

Mr Sherborne claimed that this invoice was linked to a Daily Mail story from June 2003, with "extensive" details about William's 21st birthday party which had an "out of Africa" theme, the day before the party was due to take place.

"It can be inferred... that information for the article was obtained through blagging," Mr Sherborne continued.

The claims were made in a document dated September 30, after ANL had provided its written arguments to the High Court.

Mr Sherborne also told the court that a record from a different private investigator allegedly shows a journalist commissioning him to provide a "mobile phone conversion" related to the Princess of Wales, as well as phone numbers from a "family and friends" list.

According to the document, lawyers for ANL are said to have said this proposed amendment is "very late", with part of it previously reported in 2012.

Wednesday's hearing included a bid by ANL to have parts of the cases thrown out, with Mr Sherborne saying that, with the exception of one part, ANL's bid to throw out elements of their claims is "unreasonably and unfairly late" and should be dismissed.

Harry was understood to be dialling in to Wednesday's hearing in London using a remote link, and one user with the name "Prince Harry" could be seen.

Antony White KC, for ANL, said in written submissions that lawyers for the group of high-profile individuals had made "wholly unparticularised" allegations of unlawful information gathering (UIG) that should not proceed to the trial.

The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin concluded on Thursday, with a decision expected at a later date ahead of the expected trial in January 2026.