2 min readUpdated: Jul 7, 2026 07:05 PM IST

Prince Harry and several celebrity claimants have lost their privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail, marking a major victory for the newspaper group in the long-running legal dispute, Associated Press reported.

What did the judges say?

Delivering judgment on Tuesday, Justice Matthew Nicklin dismissed the claims against Associated Newspapers Ltd. (ANL), ruling that Prince Harry had failed to establish that the publisher relied on unlawful information-gathering methods, the report said.

The judge said the evidence did not support the broad inferences advanced by the claimants and that there was a realistic possibility the disputed reports had been sourced through legitimate journalistic means, according to the report.

The long-standing lawsuit

The ruling brings to an end a high-profile lawsuit brought by Harry alongside six other public figures, including singer Elton John, actor Elizabeth Hurley, filmmaker David Furnish, actor Sadie Frost, anti-racism campaigner Doreen Lawrence, and former Liberal Democrat MP Simon Hughes.

The group had accused the Daily Mail publisher of privacy violations through alleged practices such as phone tapping, voicemail interception and the use of private investigators, claims that ANL consistently denied, as per the report.

The case, which followed an 11-week trial and carried estimated legal costs of around ┬г40 million ($53.5 million), was the last of three major lawsuits Prince Harry filed against British tabloid publishers over alleged unlawful newsgathering practices.

While Harry previously secured victories against the publishers of the Daily Mirror and The Sun, his challenge against the Daily Mail has now been dismissed.

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