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Prince Harry and six other defendants, including Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sadie Frost, have been ordered to pay nearly $13 million to a UK tabloid publisher following a lost privacy case. The High Court ruling in July found insufficient evidence to support their claims of unlawful information gathering by Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
Justice Matthew Nicklin dismissed the allegations, stating there was a realistic possibility that the information came from legitimate sources. The defendants had accused the publisher of using unlawful tactics such as phone hacking and employing private detectives to gather information. However, the court found the evidence presented was not enough to support these claims.
The legal costs for the case, which included years of preparation and an 11-week trial, were estimated at around 40 million pounds ($53.5 million). The publisher hailed the verdict as an "overwhelming victory" and a "magnificent vindication" of their journalism.
This ruling is a setback for Prince Harry, who has been involved in several legal battles against UK tabloids. In previous cases, he secured a judgment against the publishers of the Daily Mirror for phone hacking and received an apology from The Sun. His ongoing litigation has been a source of tension with his family, particularly with his father, King Charles III, and brother, Prince William.
Despite the defeat, Prince Harry and fellow claimant Doreen Lawrence criticized the judgment as a "complete and obvious whitewash." Lawrence, whose son was killed in a racist attack, alleged her privacy was breached by a private investigator working for the Daily Mail.
The case highlights ongoing tensions between public figures and the press, with privacy and journalistic practices at the forefront of the debate.