Prince Harry and other prominent individuals have been ordered by London’s High Court to pay an interim sum of £9.54 million ($17.9 million Cdn) in legal costs to the publisher of the Daily Mail following their unsuccessful privacy lawsuits. The ruling, issued on Friday, comes after Judge Matthew Nicklin dismissed the case brought by Prince Harry and others, refuting claims of unlawful activities such as phone hacking by the Mail titles.
Among the high-profile individuals suing Associated Newspapers were singer Elton John, his Canadian spouse David Furnish, actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley, former Liberal Democratic MP Simon Hughes, and anti-racism activist Doreen Lawrence. Judge Nicklin criticized the claimants’ case for being based on “speculative and inferential” grounds, deeming their conduct highly unreasonable.
The ruling mandates an indemnity basis for the outstanding payment, meaning Prince Harry and the other claimants must contribute towards Associated’s legal expenses without the publisher having to justify their costs. Associated Newspapers hailed the decision as a significant win for the publication and its journalistic practices.
During a hearing in July, it was disclosed that Associated had accrued legal fees amounting to £34.5 million ($64.7 million Cdn), while Prince Harry and the other claimants were covered by an insurance policy capped at £16 million ($30 million Cdn). The claimants’ lawyer, Nicholas Bacon, expressed astonishment at the exorbitant legal bill incurred by Associated, exceeding the agreed budget.
There has been no confirmation yet on whether the claimants intend to appeal the ruling. Prince Harry’s spokesperson refrained from commenting on the matter, while the prince previously characterized the court defeat as a blatant whitewash. Additionally, Prince Harry and Meghan recently announced their plans to relocate to the UK with their children after residing in southern California for the past six years.
This legal battle marks the conclusion of a series of lawsuits initiated by Prince Harry against tabloid publishers for employing illicit tactics. In a previous case, Prince Harry was awarded £140,600 (approximately $240,430 Cdn) due to phone-hacking and other unlawful information gathering by journalists at Britain’s Mirror Group Newspapers.
In a separate significant case, the Rupert Murdoch-led News Group in the UK issued a formal apology to Prince Harry for unauthorized phone hacking and surveillance activities. However, the court dismissed allegations of a covert agreement between Murdoch’s newspaper group and Buckingham Palace to deter royal lawsuits.
Prince Harry’s involvement in legal proceedings made history in 2023 as he became the first British royal to provide testimony at a trial in over a century. The court documents related to Friday’s ruling can be accessed via the provided link.