'This makes me feel physically sick.' 5 of the biggest moments from Prince Harry's trial.

It's the trial Prince Harry — and the rest of the world — has been anticipating for a long time now.

The prince and 100 others are suing MGN, the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and Sunday People, over allegations of phone-hacking and unlawful information-gathering between 1991 and 2011.

Those suing claim senior editors and executives at MGN knew about and approved of the wrongdoing.

Harry had been selected as one of four test cases leading to him becoming the first senior royal to appear in a witness box for more than 130 years.

Watch: 4 revelations from Prince Harry's memoir. Post continues below.

Interestingly, MGN has previously admitted its titles were involved in phone-hacking — the illegal interception of mobile voicemails — settling more than 600 claims. 

But they say there was no mobile phone data nor any shred of evidence to show Harry was a victim.

Given it's the trial everyone is talking about, here are the five biggest takeaways from the court case (so far).

1. Prince Harry is the first senior royal in 130 years to appear in a witness box.

For the first time in over 130 years, a high-ranking member of the British Royal Family is testifying in court. 

The last time a royal appeared in court was over a century ago when Edward VII testified as a witness in part of a divorce case in 1870 and 20 years later in a slander trial over a card game, both before he became king.

Harry's legal move is allegedly against the wishes of his father, King Charles III.

2. Prince Harry opened up about the impacts of the "vile" tabloids.

Harry launched a fierce attack on the "vile" press, blaming tabloids for destroying his adolescence and later relationships, as he gave evidence for almost five hours on his first day in court. 

Harry said the thought of people unlawfully intruding into the private life of his late mother Princess Diana made him "feel physically sick".

He said he had been targeted since 1996 when he was a schoolboy. Harry said the press would try to destroy his relationships with girlfriends, blaming them for his break-up with Chelsy Davy, for causing his circle of friends to shrink and for bouts of depression and paranoia.

He said he had been labelled a "playboy prince", a "thicko", a "failure" and a "drop out".

Listen to this trial be discussed on Mamamia Out Loud. Post continues after audio. 

3. Prince Harry was thoroughly quizzed by the defence.

MGN's lawyer Andrew Green began his questioning on Tuesday, personally apologising to Harry on MGN's behalf over one instance in which it admitted unlawful information gathering, saying "it should never have happened and it will not happen again".

The lawyer then forensically and with increasing hostility quizzed the prince over 33 newspaper articles, whose details Harry claims were obtained unlawfully. Harry was in the witness box on this occasion for over seven hours. 

Looking relaxed but serious, and speaking softly but firmly, Harry said thousands if not millions of stories had been written about him as Green pressed him on whether he had read the MGN articles in question at the time they were published.

The lawyer intimated that the distress he had suffered was caused by press coverage in general, not the specific MGN stories, and suggested they were based on details already in the public domain.

When asked about the source of information for articles at the centre of his lawsuit, Harry repeatedly said that question should be asked of the journalist who wrote them, saying they appeared suspicious.

4. Prince Harry said he would find it "an injustice" if the court determines he was never hacked by any MGN journalist.

Green asked Harry if he would be "relieved or disappointed" if the court found no evidence to suggest that Harry was hacked by an MGN journalist.

Harry replied: "I believe phone-hacking was on an industrial scale across at least three of the papers at the time and that is beyond doubt.

"To have a decision against me and any other people that come behind me with their claims, given that Mirror Group have accepted hacking, yes, I would feel some injustice," he said.

In response to Green's suggestion that Harry wanted to have been a victim, the prince replied: "Nobody wants to be phone hacked."

5. Prince Harry said that although some time has passed since the publication of these articles in question, the distress level remains the same. 

Harry noted in court: "If that's to suggest the distress was somehow reduced it certainly wasn't and hasn't been."

During a testy moment between Harry and MGN's lawyer, Harry appealed directly to the judge, saying: "My lord, my whole life the press have misled me, covered up their wrongdoing. To be sitting here in court knowing that the defence has the evidence in front of them and [MGN lawyer Andrew] Green saying I'm speculating... I'm not entirely sure what to say about that."

Harry alleged that the journalists' behaviour severely impacted his mental health, spurring bouts of depression and paranoia.

"I now realise that my acute paranoia of being constantly under surveillance was not misplaced after all."

When asked by his own lawyer how he was handling this whole process, Harry paused and said "it's a lot", becoming visibly emotional. His voice cracked when he answered the judge's follow-up question.

Harry's evidence is only one part of the seven-week trial that is due to conclude in June, with a verdict expected later in the year. As for what's to come in the courtroom, we'll have to stay tuned. 

With AAP.

Feature Image: Getty.