Just days after announcing his UK return, Prince Harry has been hit with a major setback.
On Friday, August 21, a High Court judge ordered the Duke of Sussex to pay a share of a £9.5m interim court bill to Associated Newspapers Lilimited (ANL) within seven days, following his last month’s legal defeat.
The ruling marks another blow to Harry as he continues to battle the publisher over alleged phone hacking and unlawful information gathering.
The 41-year-old former senior working royal and the other high-profile claimants have been given an initial bill to pay the publisher.
King Charles’ youngest son lost his privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail in July while he was visiting the UK. Together with a group of claimants, will need to cover the paper’s legal costs, which include an initial £9,544,355 to be paid by 28 August.
The group includes Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, David Furnish, Sadie Frost and Sir Simon Hughes.
However, the court is yet to decide how much of the ANL’s costs the claimants must ultimately pay, and there will be further hearings to determine the total sum.
Justice Nicklin said: “The claimants and their advisers have been on notice, since the hearing, that this would be the date for payment on account.”
He added he was “quite satisfied” that an order for indemnity costs, which are more favourable to the publisher, “should be made in this case”.
Associated previously stated its costs defending the proceedings were £34.5 million, which the court described as “exceptionally high”.
However, the court declined to impose a cap on the amount that they could recover following “careful consideration”.
The ruling comes amid reports that Harry and Meghan are planning to quit America and move their children back to the UK for schooling.
2026-08-21 20:21:00
