Prince Harry and several other well-known individuals have been ordered by London’s High Court to make an interim payment of £9.54 million ($17.9 million Cdn) towards the legal expenses of the publisher of the Daily Mail, following the dismissal of their privacy lawsuits. Judge Matthew Nicklin recently ruled against the case brought by Prince Charles’s younger son and others, refuting claims of unlawful activities such as phone hacking by the Mail titles.
Notable figures like Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Elizabeth Hurley, Simon Hughes, and Doreen Lawrence were among those suing Associated Newspapers. Nicklin criticized the claimants’ case, stating that serious allegations were based on speculative and inferential grounds, deeming their conduct as unreasonably high.
Associated Newspapers hailed the decision as a victory for its journalism. The ruling stipulates that the outstanding amount must be paid on an “indemnity basis,” meaning the prince and others must contribute to the legal costs without requiring the publisher to prove they were reasonable.
During a July hearing, it was revealed that Associated had accrued a legal bill of £34.5 million ($64.7 million Cdn), while the claimants had an insurance policy covering only £16 million ($30 million Cdn). Nicholas Bacon, the claimants’ lawyer, criticized the exorbitant legal bill, which exceeded the agreed budget.
As of now, there is no decision on whether the claimants will appeal the ruling. Prince Harry’s spokesperson refrained from commenting on the matter. The prince had previously described the court loss as a “complete and obvious whitewash” earlier this summer.
Prince Harry and Meghan recently announced their plans to return to the UK with their children after residing in southern California. This legal battle concludes a series of lawsuits filed by Harry against tabloid publishers, with a previous case resulting in an apology and compensation for phone-hacking incidents by Mirror Group Newspapers.
In 2023, Prince Harry made history by becoming the first British royal to testify in a trial in over a century as part of this ongoing legal saga. News Group in the UK, led by Rupert Murdoch, also issued an apology for phone hacking and surveillance, although an allegation of a secret deal with Buckingham Palace to prevent royal lawsuits was dismissed by the court.