Archive · 21 Aug 2026
Prince Harry Ordered to Pay £9.54m After Mail Lawsuit Fails
Prince Harry and six other people sued the company that publishes the Daily Mail.
They said the newspapers had obtained private information illegally.
The judge rejected their claims after an 11-week trial because he said the evidence was not strong enough.
The judge also said the case had been pursued in an unreasonable way.
Because the group lost, they must pay some of the newspaper company’s legal costs.
Their first payment is £9.54 million and is due by August 28.
The newspaper company says the decision supports its journalists and a free press.
The claimants say the legal bill is unusually large, and the total amount they must pay has not yet been decided.
The High Court ordered Prince Harry and six other claimants to pay Associated Newspapers £9,544,355 by August 28.
The payment covers part of Associated Newspapers’ reported £34.5 million legal costs from the failed privacy lawsuit.
Judge Matthew Nicklin ruled that remaining costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis, potentially increasing the claimants’ liability.
The claimants alleged unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking, bugging and access to private records, between the 1990s and 2011.
Associated Newspapers called the ruling a victory for its journalism, while the claimants’ lawyer described the publisher’s bill as “eye-watering.”
- Who
- Prince Harry, Elton John, Doreen Lawrence, David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley and Simon Hughes are the claimants; Associated Newspapers is the publisher seeking costs.
- What
- The High Court ordered the claimants to make an interim payment of £9,544,355 and ruled that further costs should be assessed on an indemnity basis.
- When
- The costs judgment was published on Friday, with payment due by August 28; it followed the lawsuit judgment on July 7.
- Where
- The case was decided at the High Court in London.
- Why
- The claimants lost after the judge found they had not proved that Mail publications obtained information unlawfully and criticized how their allegations were pursued.
Claimants’ position
Associated Newspapers’ position
Evidence behind the lawsuit
Claimants’ position
The claimants alleged that Mail titles used unlawful methods, including phone hacking, bugging and accessing private records, to obtain information about them.
Associated Newspapers’ position
Associated Newspapers denied the allegations, and Judge Matthew Nicklin said the claimants had not provided sufficient evidence and that some reporting might have come from legitimate sources.
Size of the legal bill
Claimants’ position
The claimants’ lawyer called the reported £34.5 million bill “eye-watering” and argued that it exceeded an agreed budget; claimants’ lawyers also proposed a lower interim payment.
Associated Newspapers’ position
Associated Newspapers argued that the claimants had made wide-ranging and serious allegations without supporting evidence, increasing the publisher’s costs.
Meaning of the ruling
Claimants’ position
Prince Harry described the lawsuit’s dismissal as a “complete and obvious whitewash,” while his lawyers argued that indemnity costs would be unjust.
Associated Newspapers’ position
Associated Newspapers called the ruling another overwhelming victory for the Mail, its journalism and the free press generally.
- Initial payment
- £9,544,355, due by August 28
- Claimants
- Prince Harry and six other public figures
- Publisher
- Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and other Mail titles
- Reported legal costs
- Approximately £34.5 million
- Claimants’ insurance
- Reportedly £16 million
- Original allegations
- Unlawful information gathering, including alleged phone hacking, between the 1990s and 2011
- Remaining costs
- To be assessed separately on an indemnity basis
- Appeal
- No decision had been reported on whether the claimants would appeal
Sources
Prince Harry, 6 Others To Pay Initial Rs 124 Crore After Losing Privacy Case
Prince Harry And 6 Others To Learn Initial Cost Of Failed Daily Mail Case
Why will Prince Harry, Elton John and others pay £9.5m to Daily Mail?
Prince Harry to learn how much failed Daily Mail lawsuit will cost
