Princess Diana's letters read out in court by Prince Harry's lawyer

Prince Harry's highly anticipated showdown against the British tabloid kicked off Monday, the Duke of Sussex left the judge unhappy with his absence.

However, Harry's lawyer David Sherborne read out letters exchanged between Princess Diana and former television personality Michael Barrymore, which referred to “secret and highly sensitive” meetings between the pair.

Harry's attorney said the Duke's late mother Diana was a "huge target" for MGN’s newspapers, adding that certain unlawful activities in relation to her would have also affected Harry.

"It is part of our case that the interception of her messages would necessarily have involved obtaining information about the young prince," the Barrister continued.

Diana, in one of the two letters, referred to being “devastated” to learn the “Daily Mirror” had called her office about him and their meetings, which she wrote that she had not told anyone about.

Sherborne said “plainly” the Daily Mirror had been “listening to the voicemail messages and that is how they knew of the secret and highly sensitive meetings between Princess Diana and poor Barrymore”.