Prince Harry and other prominent individuals have been directed by London’s High Court to make an interim payment of £9.54 million ($17.9 million Cdn) towards the legal expenses of the Daily Mail’s publisher after losing their privacy lawsuits. Last month, Judge Matthew Nicklin dismissed the case brought by Prince Harry and several others, refuting claims that the Mail titles had been involved in widespread unlawful activities, such as phone hacking.
Among the high-profile individuals suing Associated Newspapers were singer Elton John and his Canadian spouse, David Furnish, as well as actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley. Other claimants included former Liberal Democratic MP Simon Hughes and Doreen Lawrence, an anti-racism activist following her son Stephen’s killing in 1993.
Judge Nicklin criticized the manner in which the claimants presented their case, stating that serious allegations were based on speculative and inferential grounds. He noted that the conduct was unreasonably high, taking the case beyond the norm.
A spokesperson for Associated Newspapers hailed the ruling as a significant victory for the Mail and its journalism. The ruling specified that the outstanding amount should be settled on an “indemnity basis,” requiring the losing party, including Prince Harry and others, to contribute to Associated’s legal costs without the publisher needing to justify the reasonableness and proportionality of these costs.
During a hearing in July, it was revealed that Associated had amassed a legal bill of £34.5 million ($64.7 million Cdn), while Prince Harry and the other claimants were covered by an insurance policy of £16 million ($30 million Cdn). The claimants’ lawyer, Nicholas Bacon, argued that Associated’s legal bill far exceeded the agreed budget, describing it as “eye-watering.”
The decision on a possible appeal by the claimants is pending. Prince Harry’s spokesperson refrained from commenting on the ruling. Earlier this summer, the prince criticized the court loss as a “complete and obvious whitewash.”
Prince Harry and Meghan recently announced their plans to return to the UK, where they intend to enroll their children in school. After residing in British Columbia and then in southern California for the past six years, their decision to return to the UK surprised the British press.
The legal case is the final unresolved litigation in a series of lawsuits filed by Prince Harry against tabloid publishers for using unlawful tactics. Previously, he was awarded £140,600 (about $240,430 Cdn) following a ruling by the High Court that he was a victim of minor phone hacking and other illegal information gathering by journalists at Britain’s Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN).
In 2023, Prince Harry made history as the first British royal to provide evidence at a trial in 130 years during the case proceedings. Another significant development was the Rupert Murdoch-led News Group in the UK issuing a full apology to the Duke of Sussex for phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators. However, the court dismissed an allegation of a secret deal between Murdoch’s newspaper group and Buckingham Palace to prevent royals from filing such lawsuits.