Prince Harry has suffered a crushing defeat in court as all the claims brought against Associated Newspapers have been dismissed.
The Duke of Sussex, Sir Elton John and five additional claimants lost their High Court privacy battle against the company behind the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.
Mr Justice Nicklin delivered his ruling on Tuesday afternoon, dismissing every claim brought against the publisher.
The judge determined that the group had not successfully demonstrated their accusations of unlawful information gathering against the media organisation.
The Duke of Sussex’s substantial £50 million privacy claim was thrown out as part of the comprehensive defeat.
Associated Newspapers responded to the judgment by declaring it an “overwhelming victory” and a “magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail’s journalism.”
The claimants were unable to establish their allegations that the publisher had engaged in unlawful methods to obtain information, leading Mr Justice Nicklin to rule entirely in favour of the newspaper group.
Harry arrived in the UK on Monday evening and was attending an Invictus Games engagement when the judgment was published on Tuesday afternoon, after an 11-week trial earlier this year in his claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over alleged unlawful information gathering.
The decision comes as Harry’s accommodation arrangements for his UK visit descended into chaos, ahead of five days of appearances in London and Birmingham, including marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games.
The duke is not staying at Buckingham Palace during his return, with his spokesman saying on Monday that it was “disappointing” the offer from the King had been “withdrawn at the last moment”.
It is understood that the duke initially turned down the offer for himself and his family, who are no longer accompanying him to London, on Saturday, before making a U-turn later in the day and asking to stay.
The appropriate hospitality and staffing provision was said to be no longer available, with Buckingham Palace also believing the longstanding legal case had complicated the matter, and could compromise the King’s constitutional position.
It is said that while every effort was made to facilitate Harry’s stay, as a courtesy to staff and others involved, the Royal Household requires a minimum level of notice to ensure he could be hosted appropriately at a royal residence.
The duke wanted to stay at the Palace for just one night on Tuesday evening.
Dozens of people gave evidence during the trial in London, including Harry, the rest of the group of household names of Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost and Sir Simon Hughes, as well as many current or former ANL journalists and executives.
During around two hours of cross-examination in January, Harry said he could not complain about some of the 14 articles in his case at the time “because of the institution I was in”.
He also said in his written evidence that “knowingly false” information was added to stories to “put me off the scent”, to conceal unlawful methods, including voicemail interception.
As part of its defence, ANL said that Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday journalists provide a “compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles”, including friends and “leaky” social circles, press officers and spokespersons, as well as previous reporting, freelance journalists and stories from other newspapers and news agencies.
The trial also heard arguments over whether the cases were brought in time, as the law states that legal action related to unlawful information-gathering must be launched within six years of someone discovering they could have a claim.
