Prince Harry is among the well-known names who must now pay an initial legal bill of about 9.5 million pounds after losing a court case against the publishers of the Daily Mail. Harry and his co-litigants have been given a week to pay the first part of the costs incurred after Mr Justice Nicklin handed down his ruling.
The total costs incurred by Associated Newspapers came to 34.5 million pounds. Prince Harry was part of a group who had sued the publisher for breach of privacy, alongside Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, Baroness Lawrence and Elizabeth Hurley.
On Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin said the initial 9.5 million pounds was due within a week and issued a rare indemnity order, lifting the cap on how much the claimants will have to pay toward the publisher’s costs. Such orders are only permitted in cases where there has been “unreasonable” behaviour, or actions the court considers to be “out of the norm.”
The judge was sharply critical of the claim itself, describing it as “speculative” and saying the claimants had relied on “inference” rather than firm evidence. That assessment underpinned both the loss and the unusually broad costs order that followed.
The full amount due will be determined over the coming months. It is understood the claimants hold insurance for the case that could pay out up to 16 million pounds, while Associated Newspapers will still have to justify its cost figures at hearings convened to set the final sum. For now, the immediate deadline leaves Harry and his fellow claimants facing a substantial and time-pressured payment as the wider costs battle continues.
