Prince Harry and Elton John's lawsuit against Daily Mail publisher to begin

Prince Harry is due at the High Court in London on Monday when a trial is due to begin on his privacy lawsuit against the publisher of the Daily Mail, one of the most high-profile cases to be held in Britain for years.



The British royal, 41, along with six others including veteran pop star Elton John, 78, are suing Associated Newspapers for unlawful behaviour, ranging from hacking voicemail messages on their mobile phones to obtaining personal information such as financial or medical records by deception.



Associated, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, has rejected all the allegations, calling them preposterous smears, and argues they are part of a coordinated conspiracy against the press.



In a trial expected to last nine weeks, lawyers for Harry, John and the other claimants - John's husband David Furnish, actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence and former lawmaker Simon Hughes - will argue that Mail stories were based on material illicitly obtained by private investigators.



Both sides are likely to make allegations of dishonesty about the other. Not just reputations, but also legal costs running to tens of millions of dollars ride on the outcome.