With Harry in London for a High Court hearing, could one of these people be hosting his stay?

The trial between Associated Newspapers Limited and the number of high-profile personalities continues to simmer away at London’ High Court, with the latest development having the lawyers for ANL, who own amongst many titles the Daily Mail, pushing back against the clams in a bid to get the case dismissed or, at least, ruling in the publisher’s favour without going to trial.

Which isn’t the development perhaps one of the claimants wanted to hear having made a number of surprise appearances during the hearing; Harry, Duke of Sussex, has been at the High Court this week to discuss how the alleged actions of papers under the ANL arm have, much like other celebrities, been “unchecked [in] power, influence and criminality,” to quote Harry's legal team. He is joined in the hearing by Sir Elton John, Sadie Frost and Baroness Doreen Lawrence - mother to the late Stephen Lawrence. 

It’s a development that surely won’t sit well with Harry, but with his appearances at the High Court, it’s sprung up another question - where is Harry staying while in London? We know that he no longer has access to Frogmore Cottage, which seemingly has a revolving door policy between Princess Eugenie and Prince Andrew as reports continue to conflict one another, and we would imagine that despite their advertising, a Premier Inn might not cut it for the Duke of Sussex.

So perhaps, given his years roughing it out during his “wildchild” years at University and his time at Sandhurst, Harry still has a number of close friends with a couch he can sleep on overnight? We say couch - what is more probably is a guest room with en-suite and breakfast included, or at the very least, a glamorous daybed.

But even that might be a problem for Harry as his lawyers have admitted during the hearing that due to constant media impedance, he has found it hard to maintain relationships with some of his friends. The lawyer has stated that the paranoia and fear that Harry felt with the media intrusion led to him losing trust in some of his friends - even those who he held nearest and dearest throughout his formative years.

But he still has a close knit support group, who have been with him from his wild, tabloid-friendly moments growing up in the public eye to those relationships he fostered in the brotherhood of being a member of the Royal Army. So which couch could Harry be sleeping on while in London?

Adam Bidwell

Adam Bidwell is a stockbroker who is a close friend of the Sussex family, especially Prince Harry. Adam has been involved in several important events with the royal family. He was one of the ushers at Meghan and Harry's wedding in May 2018. 

Later that summer, he accompanied Prince Harry on a trip to Lesotho, where they visited the Phelisanong Children’s Home and celebrated the official opening of The Dining Hall at the centre. Additionally, Adam is an ambassador for Prince Harry's charity Sentebale.

The van Straubenzee Brothers

The name “Charlie” is mentioned in Spare as who Harry originally intended as his best man for his wedding to Meghan Markle, before “The Firm” chose Prince William for him instead. That man is believed to have been Charlie van Strabenzee, brother to Thomas van Strabenzee, who the Princes both met at Ludgrove Prep School and have remained friends to the Sussexs even after their separation from the Royal family. 

Although they have largely remained out of the public eye, Thomas van Straubenzee has made a name for himself as the Head of UK Financial Intermediaries for Brown Advisor, an investment management firm. Despite their busy lives, the brothers have maintained their close friendship with the royal brothers - including Harry acting as Charlie’s best man at his wedding to married Daisy Jenks in 2018

Mark Dyer

Mark Dyer was appointed by King Charles as a royal aide to keep a watchful eye on his younger son after the tragic death of Princess Diana. According to Harry's memoir, "Spare," Dyer played a crucial role in his teenage years, serving as a second father figure to the Duke. At the age of 17, Dyer visited Harry at Eton College to investigate his drug use, as Harry has admitted to using cocaine, cannabis, and magic mushrooms during his youth.

In the book's acknowledgments, Dyer - also known as "Marko" - is thanked for his love and support, and is credited as one of the sources that helped jog the Duke's memory and restore important details lost in the fog of youth. He is also featured in a previously unseen photo of the Sussexes' wedding reception in 2018, along with five other friends. Jasper, Dyer's son, was a page boy at the wedding and is also Harry's godson.

Guy Pelly

In the world of the royals, friendship is everything, and for Guy Pelly, a nightclub entrepreneur, his friendship with Prince William and Prince Harry has had its ups and downs. When Harry’s memoir, Spare, was released it was Pelly who was accused of introducing the Duke of Sussex to drugs during his teenage years. 

But the godfather to Prince Louis, as it transpired, did not introduce Harry to drugs leading to a perceived “expulsion” from the circle of friends Harry frequents with to be revoked. Such has been the enduring friendship between the two, including Pelly visiting Harry in California back in 2020. He didn’t appear in the Netflix series, nor acknowledged in Harry’s book - but given the cause celebre over his apparent introduction of narcotics to Harry, we can appreciate why he’d like to be out of the public eye for a brief few moments.

Jack Mann

Jack Mann is a former member of the Blues and Royals who served alongside Prince Harry at Sandhurst and during deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. It has been reported that Mann was the unofficial best man at Harry's wedding, as his brother William was designated best man. Mann has made headlines away from the Duke of Sussex after being detained by security officials on his way to Libya, a country currently in a state of conflict. Mann and his companions claimed that they were travelling to Libya to provide medical training. He was questioned by Maltese police but was not charged with any crime.

Mann is also the son of Simon Mann, a former SAS officer who became a mercenary. Simon was involved in a failed coup in 2004 to overthrow the president of Equatorial Guinea, known as the "Wonga Coup."