When Prince Harry appears in the High Court in London as part of his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers, he will be the first senior British royal to appear in the witness box since the 1890s.
Here is a timeline of senior royals in court:
PRINCE ANDREW
Virginia Giuffre sued Harry’s uncle in the United States in 2021 for allegedly sexually abusing her as a teenager, in a case centered on Andrew’s friendship with the late Jeffrey Epstein, the financier and convicted sex offender who she claimed also sexually abused her.
Andrew’s case was settled last year. In the settlement, he did not admit wrongdoing and did not appear in court. He hasn’t been charged with anything criminal.
GEORGE V
In 1910, shortly after becoming king, his son George V was accused of bigamy by a Republican newspaper.
Despite the fact that he did not testify, George provided the court with a written statement in which he denied bigamy. The author of the article received a one-year prison sentence for libel.
PRINCESS ANNE
In 2001, Princess Royal, the late Queen Elizabeth’s only daughter, pleaded guilty to speeding. She was fined £400 and given five penalty points on her license.
When Anne pleaded guilty to failing to prevent one of her dogs from biting two children the following year, she became the first British royal to be convicted of a criminal offense in 350 years.
EDWARD VII
The last time a senior British royal gave evidence in court involved Edward VII who, before he became king, was a witness in a slander trial in 1891 over a card game.
He had previously entered the witness box in 1870, testifying in a divorce case after he was falsely accused of being one of a British lawmaker’s wife’s lovers.
CHARLES I
After the English Civil War ended in 1649, Charles I was tried for treason.
He refused to recognize the court’s authority to hear his case, but he was found guilty and sentenced to death.
