Prince Harry and six others ordered to pay initial $13 million over failed privacy case

LONDON, 22 AUGUST 2026 —

Prince Harry and six others, including Elton John, have been ordered to pay an initial 9.5 million pounds ($13 million) to Associated Newspapers Ltd. after a London High Court judge ruled their invasion-of-privacy case was “unreasonable to a high degree.”

The claimants—Harry, anti-racism activist Doreen Lawrence, actor Liz Hurley, her partner David Furnish, actor Sadie Frost, former politician Simon Hughes and Elton John—lost a six-week High Court trial last month. They had alleged Associated Newspapers used unlawful tactics such as phone hacking and hiring private detectives.

Nicklin said in written comments accompanying the order that “several features” were important in his decision, including the unreasonable conduct of the claimants and their refusal to drop unprovable allegations, which prolonged the dispute.

Associated Newspapers has said it incurred more than 34 million pounds during the case. If it secures court approval to pursue the remaining costs, Harry and the six others could face an additional 25 million pounds.

The claimants took out insurance for about half of that exposure, based on budget estimates provided by Associated Newspapers’ lawyers at the start. Although Nicklin described the publisher’s costs as “excessive,” he declined to cap the liability, saying a broad limit could risk unfairness and be seen as arbitrary.

David Bailey-Vella, chairman of the Association of Costs Lawyers, said the ruling “could not have gone much worse” for the claimants. He expects them to challenge the final costs award before specialist costs judges before Oct. 2.

Hughes, a former Liberal Democrat MP, said he was “disappointed and surprised” that the publisher’s recoverable costs were not capped. None of the other claimants have commented.

The claimants have until Oct. 2 to decide whether to appeal Nicklin’s ruling. In a July 7 judgment on the merits, Nicklin found there was insufficient evidence to support 97 claims and suggested some reporting may have come from legitimate sources.

Associated Newspapers said the judgment is “a devastating critique of an attempt to destroy a newspaper and the reputations of its journalists, editors and executives.” The publisher called the claims “outrageous” and said pursuing them raised “disturbing questions about the conduct of elements of the legal profession.”

The ruling comes two days after it was disclosed that Harry and Meghan Markle will return to the U.K. later this month to live outside London. Harry’s legal campaign against tabloid publishers has been a central feature of his public break with the royal family; he has said the litigation contributed to his estrangement from King Charles III and Prince William.

Harry previously won a 2023 judgment against the Daily Mirror group for “widespread and habitual” phone hacking. Last year, News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun, issued an unprecedented apology and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle Harry’s privacy claims.

Harry has linked his court actions to his mother Princess Diana’s death in 1997 and to media coverage that he says damaged his marriage and mental health, driving the couple to leave Britain in 2020.