UK High Court dismisses Prince Harry and six others’ privacy claims against Daily Mail publisher

The Duke of Sussex and six others lose privacy case against Associated Newspapers

The High Court in London on Tuesday rejected privacy claims brought by Prince Harry and six other public figures against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, Judge Mr Justice Nicklin said, ruling the claimants failed to prove unlawful information gathering.

The claimants included Sir Elton John, Sir Simon Hughes, Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost and Baroness Doreen Lawrence. They alleged the publisher used unlawful methods to obtain material for stories, an accusation that Associated Newspapers denied.

In his judgment Mr Justice Nicklin said the allegations were serious and required convincing evidence. He added that suspicion, even if understandable, did not amount to proof that information was obtained unlawfully.

The judge examined each of the 97 alleged breaches individually and accepted the testimony of Associated Newspapers’ journalists when they provided lawful explanations for how they sourced disputed articles and incidents.

Mr Justice Nicklin also found the claimants had not proved that three senior Associated executives—former editors Paul Dacre and Peter Wright, and senior lawyer Elizabeth Hartley—had lied in their evidence to the Leveson Inquiry when they denied unlawful activity at the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

One disputed article cited in evidence concerned a 2013 report by the Daily Mail’s Royal Editor that Prince Harry would spend New Year’s Eve alone without his then-girlfriend Cressida Bonas. Prince Harry described suggestions that journalists knew private details of his relationships as intrusive and concerning, but the judge reiterated that such concerns did not constitute proof of illegality.

Associated Newspapers welcomed the ruling, saying Mr Justice Nicklin cleared the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday and dismissed every allegation. A spokesperson called the judgment a vindication of the newspapers’ journalism and criticised the legal costs of the case.

The decision follows other legal actions by Prince Harry against the UK press. In 2023 he succeeded in 15 claims against Mirror Group Newspapers, and last year the publisher of The Sun paid damages and apologised to settle separate claims.

The ruling comes as Prince Harry begins a week of UK engagements, starting with an Invictus Games event in London, his charity for injured military veterans.