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    Prince Harry arrives at High Court for phone-tapping and privacy case

    The King and Queen Consort have arrived in Germany for the start of their first state visit which has been overshadowed by the postponement of the French leg of their European tour.

    Berlin’s Brandenburg Gate will be the backdrop later for Charles and Camilla’s official welcome to Germany, the first time the landmark has been used to welcome any visiting head of state.

    It comes as Prince Harry on Tuesday accused the royal family of “without doubt” withholding information from him “for a long time” about phone hacking as they did not want to “open a can of worms”, the High Court heard.

    The allegation – relating to News Group Newspapers – emerged in a witness statement submitted by the Duke of Sussex in the high-profile privacy case against Daily Mail publisher Associated Newspapers, which he is bringing alongside Sir Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and others.

    Harry did not attend the third day of the hearing today.

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    King Charles III keeps eye on prize after tour starts late

    Britain’s new king will make his debut on the world stage Wednesday, three days later and 550 miles (885 kilometers) northeast of where he had intended.

    Although King Charles III will be greeted with a hearty “willkommen” in Berlin rather than “bienvenue” in Paris, his goals remain the same: to cement Britain’s improving relations with Europe and show that he can help the U.K. win hearts and minds abroad just as his mother did so successfully for seven decades.

    But the decision to cancel the first leg of his trip due to protests over planned pension changes in France may make it harder for Charles to make his mark during his first big international mission as monarch. And first impressions matter as Charles, 74, prepares for his coronation on May 6.

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 13:50

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    Watch live as King Charles and Camilla arrive in Berlin in overseas debut

    Watch live as King Charles III and Queen Consort, Camilla, arrive in Berlin for his first overseas state visit as monarch.

    The first leg of the King’s trip to France was cancelled due to ongoing protests over controversial pension reform.

    On Thursday, the King is expected to deliver a speech to the Bundestag, the German parliament, and meet with chancellor Olaf Scholz.

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 13:25

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    King arrives in Berlin

    The King has arrived in Berlin for his first overseas state visit as monarch.

    Their plane landed at the capital’s Brandenburg Airport.

    (AFP via Getty Images)

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 13:14

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    Star line-up for Camilla’s first literary festival

    The Queen Consort’s literary charity has revealed the line-up for its first ever festival.

    Dame Judi Dench, Gyles Brandreth, Dame Harriet Walter, Philippa Gregory, David Olusoga, Ben Macintyre, Kate Mosse, David Harewood, Robert Harris and Ken Follett will be among the actors and authors appearing at Hampton Court Palace on June 11.

    The one-day event will also see The Queen’s Reading Room join forces with The Royal Society of Literature to stage a memorial event for the late Wolf Hall trilogy author Dame Hilary Mantel, overlooked by Anne Boleyn’s Gateway.

    And the cast of the West End show Austentatious will improvise a new Jane Austen novel inspired by a title dreamt up by Camilla.

    (Getty)

    Dame Judi will appear in conversation with Brandreth to discuss her life, career and love of Shakespeare.

    Camilla’s reading room began as an Instagram book club inspired during lockdown, but was relaunched as a charity in February to work on advancing education by promoting the appreciation of literature among adults and children.

    Vicki Perrin, chief executive of The Queen’s Reading Room, said: “There is a special kind of magic to be found in a book, and great wonder in listening to authors speak about their work.

    “I have no doubt that visitors will find themselves inspired by these great minds, enjoy connecting with fellow readers, and I hope that they will come away transformed into lifelong literature lovers.”

    The festival is a co-production between The Queen’s Reading Room and Historic Royal Palaces, the independent charity that cares for Hampton Court Palace.

    Proceeds will go towards the ongoing work of both charities and tickets are available via thequeensreadingroom.co.uk

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 13:00

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    New portrait of Charles shows King wearing bracelet from indigenous Amazon leader

    A new portrait of the King depicts his “warmth” and “empathy” and shows him wearing a bracelet given to him by an indigenous Amazon leader, the artist has said.

    Alastair Barford said he wanted to capture Charles’s “sensitivity” in the oil painting, with the inclusion of the bracelet a nod to his environmental campaigning.

    The picture was commissioned by the Illustrated London News for its special coronation editio, which is on sale from Thursday.

    Charles did not sit for the portrait, but Mr Barford attended a biodiversity reception at Buckingham Palace and spent around an hour and a half observing the King as he greeted guests.

    He said of his work: “I wanted it to be more about the man and less about the role so I was trying to capture something of a warmth and an empathy which I saw in his interactions with those people when I was there.

    “I felt that there was a sort of a sensitivity.”

    Amazon Indigenous leader Domingo Peas (right), presents a gift to King Charles III during a reception to discuss the practical delivery of the global biodiversity framework at Buckingham Palace, Londo

    (PA)

    Charles was presented with a necklace made from seeds - symbolic of an alliance between the King and indigenous people - and a bracelet by Domingo Peas, leader of the Achuar Nation of the Ecuadorian Amazon, at the Palace reception in February.

    Mr Barford said: “I thought it was really nice to leave the bracelet in as a nod to the event and a nod to his interest in environmental matters.”

    The artist, from Bridport in Dorset, was also commissioned by Illustrated London News to paint the late Queen in 2015.

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 12:36

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    Watch: Prince Harry's two words of advice for media on second day of High Court hearing

    Prince Harry's two words of advice for media on second day of High Court hearing

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 12:10

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    Harry claims ANL journalists are ‘criminals with journalistic powers’

    In a witness statement made public on Tuesday, Harry alleged that journalists at ANL “are criminals with journalistic powers which should concern every single one of us”.

    “The British public deserve to know the full extent of this cover-up and I feel it is my duty to expose it,” he said.

    However, in a statement, a spokesperson for ANL said Harry “has become a serial litigant against Mail newspapers with whom he seems obsessed”.

    They continued: “Associated Newspapers profoundly regrets his untrue, inflammatory and deeply offensive remarks about the Mail’s journalists.

    “If they were repeated outside court, they would be highly defamatory.”

    Baroness Lawrence claims to have been the victim of the illegal interception of her voicemails, monitoring of her bank accounts and “corrupt payments to serving Metropolitan Police Service police officers, including on the Stephen Lawrence murder investigations, for confidential information”.

    Sir Elton and Mr Furnish have alleged the landline phone of their Windsor home was tapped by investigators on ANL’s behalf and that the birth certificate of their first child was unlawfully obtained by the publisher.

    But ANL argues that an alleged confession by private investigator Gavin Burrows “prompted the claims” - and highlighted a statement in which he denies being commissioned by its newspapers to conduct unlawful information gathering.

    The publisher says it “categorically denies” the allegations against it and it is “profoundly saddened” Baroness Lawrence is bringing her case.

    ANL’s lawyers argue the claims are “stale” and “largely inferential”.

    The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude on Thursday, with a ruling expected at a later date.

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 11:40

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    Prince Harry not at High Court for third day of hearing

    The Duke of Sussex was not present at the High Court for the start of the third day of a hearing over multiple privacy claims against the Daily Mail’s publisher.

    Proceedings in Court 76 at the Royal Court of Justice in London resumed on Wednesday morning without Harry.

    The duke, who unexpectedly appeared at court earlier this week, is one of seven people bringing claims against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over denied allegations it carried out or commissioned illegal or unlawful information gathering.

    Those bringing claims include Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish and actress Sadie Frost - all of whom have made appearances during the ongoing preliminary hearing.

    Mr Furnish and Ms Frost returned to the courtroom on Wednesday.

    The group’s allegations, which are denied, include that ANL hired private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, “blag” private records and access and record private phone conversations over a period starting from 1993.

    ANL is trying to have the claims dismissed without a trial at the hearing, which is due to end this week.

    Harry leaving the High Court on Tuesday

    (REUTERS)

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 11:04

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    What are Prince Harry’s claims?

    His lawyers claim he was “deprived of important aspects of his teenage years” by the “unlawful actions” of Associated Newspapers.

    “In particular, suspicion and paranoia was caused by Associated’s publication of the unlawful articles: friends were lost or cut off as a result and everyone became a ‘suspect’, since he was misled by the way that the articles were written into believing that those close to him were the source of this information being provided to Associated’s newspapers,” they argue in a written submission.

    They say the actions of Associated Newspapers amounted to “a major betrayal” of promises made by the media after the death of Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.

    The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin is due to conclude on Thursday, but Buckingham Palace said the King would be unable to meet his son because of prior commitments, including an official state visit to Germany on Wednesday

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 10:30

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    David Furnish arrives at High Court

    Candian filmmaker David Furnish has arrived at the High Court in London.

    (REUTERS)

    (REUTERS)

    Maryam Zakir-Hussain29 March 2023 10:23

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