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) towards the legal expenses of the Daily Mail’s publisher following the dismissal of their privacy lawsuits. Last month, Judge Matthew Nicklin decisively rejected the case brought by Prince Charles’s younger son and others, dismissing claims of unlawful activities by the Mail titles, such as phone hacking.
Notable figures like Elton John, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Elizabeth Hurley, Simon Hughes, and Doreen Lawrence were among those who sued Associated Newspapers. Judge Nicklin criticized the claimants’ case, stating that serious allegations were based on speculative and inferential grounds, deeming their conduct highly unreasonable.
A spokesperson for Associated Newspapers hailed the ruling as a significant victory for the publication and its journalism. The court ruled that the outstanding amount must be paid on an “indemnity basis,” meaning the prince and other claimants, as the losing party, are obligated to contribute towards Associated’s legal costs without the publisher having to demonstrate reasonableness or proportionality.
During a hearing in July, it was disclosed that Associated had accumulated legal expenses of £34.5 million ($64.7 million Cdn), while Prince Harry and the other claimants were covered by an insurance policy limited to £16 million ($30 million Cdn). The claimants’ lawyer, Nicholas Bacon, criticized Associated’s legal bill as excessive, surpassing an agreed budget.
The decision on whether the claimants will appeal remains pending. Prince Harry’s spokesperson refrained from commenting following the ruling, whereas the prince previously labeled the court defeat as a “complete and obvious whitewash.”
Recently, Prince Harry and Meghan announced their plans to return to the U.K., where they intend to enroll their children in school. After a period in British Columbia and then residing in southern California for six years, their return to Britain surprised the British media.
This legal battle marks the final unresolved lawsuit in a series of litigations initiated by Prince Harry against tabloid publishers for employing unlawful tactics. In a previous case, Harry was awarded £140,600 (approximately $240,430 Cdn) after the High Court determined he was a victim of phone-hacking and other illegal information gathering by journalists at Mirror Group Newspapers.
In another significant development, News Group in the U.K., led by Rupert Murdoch, issued a formal apology to the Duke of Sussex for illicit practices involving phone hacking and surveillance. However, the court dismissed an allegation that Murdoch’s newspaper group had struck a secret deal with Buckingham Palace to prevent royals from pursuing similar lawsuits.