King Charles surprised a group of schoolchildren on Thursday as the monarch made an unannounced visit to the High Court where he praised the judiciary and viewed an exhibition on female judges.
During his visit to the Royal Courts of Justice, the King walked in on a group of pupils from the Ashcroft Technology College in Putney who had just finished holding a mock trial. The royal quipped: "I'm so sorry to interrupt," as he then spoke to the students.
The King, 75, was shown around by Baroness Carr of Walton-on-the-Hill, who is the Lady Chief Justice of England and Wales. During his visit, she introduced the royal to members of the judiciary and showed him the exhibition. Charles also heard about the work that voluntary magistrates carry out.
In a speech at the Court, Charles said: "Maybe I'd be permitted just to thank you all enormously for the amount of effort you put into maintaining the system of justice in this country, which so many others seem to be envious of I discover when going around the world. I cannot thank you enough."
The monarch's visit to the Court comes just a day before his son, Prince Harry, is due to hear the outcome of his case against Mirror Group Newspapers. The Prince sued the publisher for damages, claiming journalists at its titles – the Daily and Sunday Mirror and Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, blagging or gaining information by deception, and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.
The allegations span a period from as early as 1991 until at least 2011, the court heard. The high-profile trial spanned seven weeks and concluded in June. Harry flew over from the US to spend eight hours of questioning in the witness box, over two days.
Evidence was also heard from dozens of witnesses, including former journalists, editors, private investigators, and MGN executives. Other witnesses, such as the family, friends, and colleagues of those bringing cases against the publisher, submitted written testimonies.
MGN largely contested the claims, although they did admit to a small number of unlawful activities in relation to Prince Harry's case. The publisher apologised to the Duke and accepted they will be entitled to some damages.
The Duke's judgement will come shortly after he was delivered a blow in court when Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that Harry would have to pay legal costs amounting to £48,000 after he lost part of his libel trial against the Mail on Sunday.
The father-of-two brought a libel case against the newspaper following an article it published about his security arrangements, which the Duke claimed had suggested Harry had "lied" and "cynically" tried to manipulate public opinion.
Harry's lawyers attempted to have Associated Newspapers' defence thrown out, however, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled against this. The trial is still expected to go ahead, with hearings scheduled for mid-May to July next year.