FILE - Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, attends the TIME100 Sports Gala at Pier 60, Chelsea Piers on July 16, 2026 in New York City. (Photo by Jemal Countess/Getty Images for TIME)
Prince Harry and six others, including Elton John, have been ordered to pay Britain’s Daily Mail $13 million (9.5 pounds) after losing an invasion of privacy lawsuit against the publisher.
Millions in legal fees
By the numbers:
Associated Newspapers Ltd., which owns and published the Daily Mail, said it incurred more than 34 million pounds throughout the case.
Should it pursue the claimants for the remainder of the costs, and get the necessary legal approval to do so, then Prince Harry and the six others will be liable for a further 25 million pounds or so.
The claimants took out insurance for around half of that total, in line with the budget estimates provided at the outset by the lawyers working for Associated Newspapers.
Invasion of privacy lawsuit
Dig deeper:
The trial is the final chapter in Harry’s long‑running battle with the British tabloid press. He wanted to hold newspapers accountable for past wrongdoing and reform what he has called a toxic media environment.
Harry and the claimants sued Associated Newspapers Ltd. for invading their privacy. Other claimants are anti‑racism activist Doreen Lawrence, former politician Simon Hughes and John’s husband, David Furnish.
They claimed the newspapers relied on "clear, systematic and sustained use of unlawful information gathering" over two decades to spy on them.
In excoriating comments accompanying his award, Justice Matthew Nicklin said on Friday that "several features" were important in his decision, including the "speculative" nature of the claims and the failure of the claimants to "voluntarily" withdraw serious allegations that could no longer be backed up.
"The conduct was unreasonable to a high degree," he said.
Previous lawsuits
The backstory:
In 2023, Harry won a lawsuit against the Daily Mirror for "widespread and habitual" phone hacking.
Last year, Rupert Murdoch’s flagship U.K. tabloid, The Sun, had to make an unprecedented apology for intruding on Harry's life for years and agreed to pay a substantial amount in damages to settle its invasion of privacy lawsuit.
Big picture view:
The lawsuits brought by Harry were the primary source for his falling out with his father, King Charles III, and brother Prince William.
Harry also blames the press for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris in 1997.
The Source: Information for this article was taken from The Associated Press. This story was reported from San Jose.