Prins Harry (Michael Loccisano/AFP) and Elton John (Kevin Winter/Getty Images North America/Getty Images via AFP)
On Tuesday, Prince Harry and Elton John filed their case against the publisher of the Daily Mail lost over alleged illegal information gathering, according to a ruling by the High Court in London.
A written judgment published after an 11-week trial earlier this year states that the “claimants have failed to prove their alleged allegations … the claims are therefore dismissed”.
Associated Newspapers welcomed Judge Matthew Nicklin’s ruling as an “overwhelming victory” and a “splendid vindication of the Daily Mail ‘s journalism” described.
The company said the court’s rejection of “every single one of the 97 allegations made by the plaintiffs” showed the judge “accepted the honesty of our journalists’ testimony about how they obtained their stories”.
Claims that wiretapping devices were placed in people’s cars and homes, phone calls were intercepted and bank accounts were illegally obtained were “full of sensationalism” and “ridiculous”, with “no credible evidence ever presented”, Associated said in a statement.
“The reputations of our decent and hard-working journalists have been seriously tarnished, and today they have been exonerated,” the company added.
The prince gave emotional evidence during the proceedings. Several high-profile figures, including John and actress Elizabeth Hurley, accused the tabloid publisher of violating their privacy.
Harry’s lawyers said they were seeking “substantial” damages on behalf of their clients over articles published between 1993 and 2018.
It was the third and final case filed by the Duke of Sussex in his bitter legal battle with British tabloids. This struggle further strained his relationship with the royal family.
“Disappointing”
Harry (41), King Charles III’s youngest son, has also been involved in other lawsuits, including over his police protection in Britain after his dramatic withdrawal from leading royal duties six years ago.
The prince, who now lives in California, arrived in Britain on Monday for a five-day visit which is expected to continue largely without his wife and children after the family was refused police protection.
The visit, to mark the one-year countdown to next year’s Invictus Games for Wounded Veterans which Harry founded, was intended to be his first family visit to the UK in four years.
However, a source close to the Duke of Sussex told AFP that Harry’s wife, Meghan, his son, Archie, and daughter, Lilibet, will not accompany him on the London leg of the visit after the family was denied security.
Arrangements for the remainder of the visit were still under consideration, the source said. It was therefore unclear whether the entire family would travel but stay outside the capital.
Conflicting statements about plans to stay in Buckingham Palace during the visit added to the prince’s headaches.
Shortly before Harry’s arrival, Buckingham Palace contradicted the duke’s team, saying he would not be living in the palace after he missed a deadline to accept the residency offer.
In a statement to AFP, Harry’s spokesman said it was “disappointing” that the offer to be hosted by his father “was withdrawn at the last minute”.
Safety problem
It was unclear whether the prince would meet his father during the visit. It is understood that he last met Charles, who is being treated for an unknown form of cancer, in September 2025 at the monarch’s London residence, Clarence House.
Harry and Meghan left Britain for North America in 2020 amid a bitter family dispute. The dispute worsened after Harry published his memoirs, Sparepublished.
The prince has since said he would like to reconcile with his father.
According to his spokesman, Harry had to make “alternative security arrangements” for the visit after being denied state-funded protection. This contributed to the delay in accepting Buckingham Palace’s residency offer.
Harry said last year that he did not feel he could bring his family to Britain after losing a court case to restore his security during visits to his native country.
Harry has long blamed the media for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 while trying to evade the paparazzi.