**Prince Harry, Elton John "Violated" by UK Media's Alleged Intrusion**

The High Court has opened proceedings in a joint lawsuit brought by Prince Harry and pop icon Elton John against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. The case marks the final stage of Harry's crusade against several UK newspaper publishers, who are accused of invading his privacy.

Harry testified that the alleged unlawful information gathering by two UK newspapers made him "paranoid beyond belief". He also revealed how 14 articles about him in the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday created a "massive strain" on his personal relationships. "It was like they were creating distrust and suspicion," he said, adding that the experience drove him to become isolated.

Elton John and his husband David Furnish also testified, stating that they felt their home had been "violated". They revealed how ANL had allegedly invaded their medical details surrounding the birth of their son Zachary, as well as stolen their son's birth certificate. The pair expressed "outrage" at the invasion, which made them feel unsafe and vulnerable.

The lawsuit alleges that ANL illegally intercepted voicemail messages, listened into phone calls, and deceptively obtained private information from at least 1993 to 2018. The claimants also accuse ANL of paying private investigators implicated in other phone hacking lawsuits for some of the "unlawful information gathering acts" to generate stories.

ANL has consistently denied the claims, calling them "lurid" and "preposterous". However, new court submissions by Harry's lawyers detailed the impact of 14 unlawful articles about him in the two tabloids. The claimants' lawyer, David Sherborne, stated that he will show "there was clear and systematic use of unlawful gathering of information" at ANL.

The case is the third brought against a British newspaper publisher by Harry, who has long blamed the media for his mother Princess Diana's death in 1997. He made history in 2023 by becoming the first senior British royal to take the stand in more than a century, when he testified as part of his successful hacking claim against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).

The other claimants in the ANL case include actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, lawmaker and campaigner Doreen Lawrence, and ex-politician Simon Hughes. All seven are set to testify, with Hurley due up later in January, followed by John and Furnish in early February.

Harry's visit to the UK is a rare return after he stepped back from royal duties in 2020 and relocated to California with his wife Meghan. During his last visit in September, he met with King Charles III amid a bitter family rift. However, there are no reported plans for him to see his father during this visit.