London, UK - Prince Harry's long-running legal battle against the British press has taken a dicey new turn.

The younger son of King Charles III is currently suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publishers behind the UK tabloid The Sun, and has accused them of spying on him since he was just nine years old.

The next trial date is in January 2025, but things are already getting difficult for the royal.

Judge Timothy Fancourt has ordered Harry to hand over his laptop and cell phone so that important evidence for the legal dispute with NGN can be secured.

The reason for this step: the Duke of Sussex allegedly deleted numerous "potentially relevant documents" and confidential messages between him and JR Moehringer, the ghostwriter of his bombshell memoir Spare, between 2021 and 2023 – even though the lawsuit was already pending in court.

"The position is not transparently clear about what happened," the judge said, per the BBC.

Fancourt, therefore, decided that a search of Harry's laptop, text messages, and WhatsApp messages was necessary to investigate his communications between 2005 and early 2023.

Along with his legal claims against British tabloids, Harry is also involved in an ongoing battle for taxpayer-funded protection during visits to the UK.