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The Duke of Sussex claims he was "largely deprived" of important parts of his teenage years due to the unlawful actions of the Daily Mail's publisher, court documents have shown as he made a surprise appearance at the High Court in London.

Harry, Sir Elton John, his husband David Furnish, Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon and Sadie Frost all attended the Royal Courts of Justice on Monday for the start of the first hearing in their claims against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL).

The high-profile individuals are part of a group, which also includes Liz Hurley and former Lib Dem MP Sir Simon Hughes, bringing privacy claims against the publisher over allegations it carried out or commissioned illegal or unlawful information-gathering.

This included the hiring of private investigators to place listening devices inside cars, the "blagging" of private records and the accessing and recording of private phone conversations.

Lawyers for ANL, which is also the publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline, said the allegations are "firmly denied" and that the "stale" claims have been brought too late as it made a bid to throw out the cases.

During the first day of the four-day hearing in London, documents detailing the group's claims were made available to journalists.

In a document filed on Harry's behalf, barrister David Sherborne said the duke is "troubled that, through Associated's unlawful acts, he was largely deprived of important aspects of his teenage years".

The barrister continued: "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."

He added: "The claimant regards Associated's unlawful acts to amount to a major betrayal given promises made by the media to improve its conduct following the tragic and untimely death of his mother, Princess Diana, in 1997."

Other allegations disclosed for the first time on Monday included claims that Sir Elton and Mr Furnish's landline at their home in Windsor was tapped.

ANL's lawyers have said the claims should be dismissed without a trial.

Adrian Beltrami KC, in written submissions, argued the legal actions have been brought too late and that the claims were "largely inferential".

The barrister said the individuals have to prove they did not know earlier, or could not have discovered earlier, they might have had a claim against ANL for alleged misuse of their private information.

"Those claims, which relate to matters said to have taken place as early as 1993, and for the most part in the first decade of this century, are undeniably prima facie time-barred," he said.

He later said none of the group said they believe they continued to be targeted by unlawful information gathering after 2015, adding: "In fact, in most instances their own case is that such targeting ended substantially before then."

Mr Beltrami added that more than a decade after the Leveson Inquiry and several criminal and civil proceedings over phone hacking, "it would be surprising indeed for any reasonably informed member of the public, let alone a figure in the public eye, to have been unaware of these matters".

Following Monday's hearing, an ANL spokesman said private investigator Gavin Burrows allegedly confessing "to carrying out a wide range of criminal activities on behalf of Mail newspapers" had prompted the claims but "according to written submissions by Adrian Beltrami KC, counsel for Associated, Mr Burrows 'has provided a signed witness statement denying that he was commissioned or instructed by Associated to carry out any unlawful activity'."

The statement continued: "While the Mail's admiration for Baroness Lawrence remains undimmed, we are profoundly saddened that she has been persuaded to bring this case.

"The Mail remains hugely proud of its pivotal role in campaigning for justice for Stephen Lawrence. Its famous 'Murderers' front page triggered the Macpherson report.

"Associated Newspapers, which owns the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, vigorously denies all the claims against it."

The hearing before Mr Justice Nicklin in London will resume on Tuesday.

© AP 2023

Prince Harry has returned to a London court for a second day of hearings to see if the phone hacking lawsuit he brought with Elton John and other celebrities can withstand a challenge from the publisher of The Daily Mail.

The case is one of several brought by the Duke of Sussex in his battle with the media and alleges the publisher hired private investigators to illegally bug homes and cars and to record phone conversations.

Associated Newspapers Ltd denies the allegations and is seeking to throw out the case, arguing that the claims are too old and rely on information they turned over in confidentiality for a 2012 probe into media law breaking.

Actors Liz Hurley and Sadie Frost, and John's husband, David Furnish, are also parties to the case.

The lawsuit alleges Associated Newspapers, which publishes The Daily Mail and The Mail On Sunday, commissioned the "breaking and entry into private property", and engaged in other unlawful acts that invaded the privacy of the famous plaintiffs.

Lawyer David Sherborne, who represents the prince and others, said the intrusions were "habitual and widespread" and later "concealed or covered up".

Articles were falsely attributed to "friends", a family source, palace sources, royal insider, or similar unnamed individuals to throw subjects "off the scent" of the true origin, Sherborne said.

Among the allegations in court papers were that Associated Newspapers unlawfully obtained the birth certificate of John and Furnish's child before they saw the document and illegally gleaned information on Harry's previous relationship with Chelsy Davy, a jewellery designer from Zimbabwe.

The publisher is also alleged to have hired a private investigator to hack Hurley's phone, stuck a mini-microphone on a window outside her home and bugged ex-boyfriend Hugh Grant's car to gather financial information, travel plans and medical information during her pregnancy.

The case is to some extent a replay of a British phone-hacking scandal that was front page news a decade ago and eventually brought down another tabloid and ended with the conviction of the former spokesperson for then-prime minister David Cameron.

The allegations dated primarily from 1993 to 2011 but also stretch beyond 2018, Sherborne said.

Associated Newspapers claims the information about the scandal was so widely known the subjects could have sued years ago.

"It would be surprising indeed for any reasonably informed member of the public, let alone a figure in the public eye, to have been unaware of these matters," lawyer Adrian Beltrami said in writing.

© AP 2023

Injured Gold Coast No.6 Kieran Foran says he is "touch and go" to not miss a game after suffering a grade two calf strain against North Queensland last week.

The Titans have also received good news on the grade two hamstring strain suffered by star fullback AJ Brimson.

Both players were initially feared to have suffered tears.

Brimson told AAP on Monday that he was looking at a "three to four weeks" absence rather than the six-to-eight weeks that was initially thought.

As for Foran, he said he could "potentially" play against St George Illawarra in a fortnight after the Titans have a bye.

"We will see how it tracks over the next seven to ten days and make a call close to the Dragons game," Foran told AAP.

"I am looking at two to three weeks.

"I haven't had a calf (injury) for years and years, even if I can remember one. It is obviously a soft tissue injury which I am used to dealing with having had a few hamstring issues over the years.

"It is a bit frustrating but I've learned to deal with these things over the years."

Foran said he'd had a frustrating start to his Titans career.

He suffered a knee injury in the round one win over the Wests Tigers, which he carried into the following week's loss to St George Illawarra.

"Then last week I (strained) the calf. It has been a pain in the backside at the moment ... but that's rugby league," he said.

Foran blew his gasket when he was taken off for a short period by coach Justin Holbrook during the 38-34 win over the Storm.

"I'm always ranting and raving about something. That's just my personality," he said.

"At the time I didn't realise Justin had a free interchange and was worried about the heat and wanted to give me a spell. I wanted to be out there, as I always do, but it proved to be a smart decision by Justin and we were able to get the win."

Foran said the Titans were resilient bunch after also losing Beau Fermor (ACL) for the season , hooker Sam Verrills (fractured collarbone) for an extended period and prop Jaimin Jolliffe (ruptured pectoral) until round 17.

"We've had a lot to contend with, losing blokes to injury during the week and during games, but I feel as though out of our four performances three have been really good," he said.

Meanwhile, Brimson said his hamstring strain was "not as bad as first diagnosed".

"With the bye I am hoping to only miss two games," he said.

"I spoke to the doctors and physios and it is not tendon based which is good. The tendon is still intact. It is more muscle.

"I thought six to eight weeks when I first did it so I was happy to get good news from the scan."

© AAP 2023