Prince Harry loses the lawsuit against the Daily Mail on the alleged illicit collection of information: the accusations rejected, he now risks a millionaire bill.
For years, Prince Harry has made the battle against the British tabloids one of his main personal missions, going so far as to claim that the aggressiveness of the press had contributed first to the death of his mother Diana and then to his decision to leave the United Kingdom together with Meghan Markle. Today, however, that war suffers one of the heaviest defeats ever. The High Court of London has in fact rejected in its entirety the lawsuit brought by the Duke of Sussex and six other famous people against Associated Newspapers, the publishing group of the Daily Mail and of Mail on Sundaypaving the way for a legal bill that could exceed £50m.
Harry against the tabloids: the battle that ends badly
The lawsuit was filed by Harry along with other well-known personalities, including Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and Baroness Doreen Lawrence. According to the applicants, the journalists of the editorial group obtained private information through illegal methods, using private investigators, illicit data collection, deception and other intrusive practices.
The proceedings lasted weeks and represented one of the most important cases ever faced in the UK on the relationship between the press and privacy. Harry hoped to add this victory to those already achieved in recent years against other British publishers.
High Court ruling and charges dismissed
Judge Matthew Nicklin, however, ruled that the evidence presented was insufficient to prove the charges against Associated Newspapers, rejecting all claims.
For the Daily Mail this is a total victory. The newspaper immediately celebrated the verdict with a special edition that took up the entire front page with a single word: “Vindicated”or “Exonerated”, claiming that the court rejected every single accusation made against their journalistic work.
Even harder Sunhistorical rival of Prince Harry, who dedicated the cover to the gigantic writing “Harry Caned”accompanied by accusations that the duke was “humiliated” and lost a case costing over £50 million.
The prince’s furious reaction: “It’s a cover-up”
Prince Harry did not hide his anger. In a statement released immediately after the ruling, he called the verdict a “complete and blatant cover-up”arguing that the court would have given greater credibility to the journalists’ testimonies than those of the alleged victims.
According to the Duke of Sussex, numerous elements would have been ignored and the decision would risk discouraging anyone who wants to report alleged abuses committed by the British press.
His words confirm how the battle against the media remains one of the most personal issues of his public life, fueled by the belief that the invasiveness of the tabloids has profoundly marked the history of his family.
The millionaire account that now scares Harry
In addition to the legal defeat, Harry could face extremely serious economic consequences. Associated Newspapers has in fact announced that it will ask for reimbursement of the expenses incurred during the long proceedings, a figure which according to the British press could exceed 50 million pounds.
This is a significant reversal from recent years, during which the prince had achieved favorable results against other publishers. In 2023 he had in fact won part of the case against the Mirror Group Newspapers for illegal wiretapping, while in 2025 he had reached an agreement with News Group Newspaperspublisher of Sunwho had publicly apologized for the intrusions into his private life.
This time, however, the court ruled in favor of the publisher of Daily Mailinflicting on the Duke of Sussex a defeat destined to weigh not only on an economic level, but also on a legal campaign that Harry had transformed into a true battle of principle against the British tabloid system.
