Prince Harry won’t appear in person for the start of his U.K. trial against Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid The Sun on Tuesday. The 40-year-old Duke of Sussex is still slated to testify in court next month against The Sun’s publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), which has denied Harry’s allegations of unlawful information gathering, People reports. The High Court ruled in February 2024 to downgrade Harry’s personal security during U.K. visits, which he is appealing. Though there were reports the Metropolitan Police would provide him with “limited police protection” while in his native London, Harry’s scheduled in-person testimony is believed to refute that, per People. Members of the media gather outside the Royal Courts of Justice on Tuesday in London, England. (Leon Neal/Getty Images) The debate over the level of security he receives follows his and wife Meghan Markle’s early 2020 decision to step back from senior royal duties. In July, sources told People that King Charles, who has been undergoing cancer treatment since early last year, was ignoring his younger son’s attempts to get in touch. The 76-year-old monarch was reportedly meeting Harry’s efforts with “complete silence,” whether they were about the King’s health or the “frightened” Sussexes’ bid to restore royal security. As for the legal battle against NGN, Harry told The New York Times’ DealBook Summit last month that he “will be damned if those journalists are going to ruin journalism for everyone, because we depend on it.” He added at the time that though big name plaintiffs like Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller had since settled their portion of their suit against Murdoch-owned outlets, he wasn’t backing down. “One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability,” he said. “Because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that.” In late 2023, Harry won a lawsuit against the U.K.’s Mirror Newspaper Group, when a court determined the publisher had engaged in phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering. Harry at the time was awarded nearly £141,000, or nearly $181,000. During a sit-down for ITV’s 2024 documentary “Tabloids On Trial,” Harry said his lawsuits against U.K. media have played a “central” role in the royal family’s ongoing rift.