PHONE HACKING SCANDAL STARS TAKE THE STAND FOR HARRY!

In his fight for the truth, the embattled duke has dragged his family into a high-profile court case

As far as pre-trial hearings go, they're mostly low-key, with lawyers only pulling out the big guns once the real court case begins.

But when Prince Harry and his cohort of famous faces made a shock appearance for proceedings at London's High Court last week, he clearly wanted to make sure the whole world knew he meant business in his latest battle with Britain's press giants.

CELEBRITIES UNITED

Harry, along with Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and actress Sadie Frost, are hoping to take Associated Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mail, to trial over what they allege are privacy breaches, including illegally accessing bank accounts, medical records and recording phone conversations through phone tapping between 2001 and 2013.

While AN denies the claims and no witnesses were due to take the stand - meaning they didn't need to be there - the superstar plaintiffs were keen to make global headlines about their plight.