A Judge Just Dismissed Prince Harry’s Massive Privacy Case. Now, He’s Firing Back With Accusations of a Systemic Cover-up
Taking on the tabloids.
Prince Harry just slammed a U.K. court ruling as a “complete and obvious whitewash” after a judge dismissed his massive privacy lawsuit against a major tabloid publisher. According to PEOPLE, the Duke of Sussex and fellow claimant Baroness Doreen Lawrence released a fiery joint statement just hours after Justice Nicklin threw out their case, accusing the court of ignoring damning evidence and letting the Daily Mail off the hook with what they called “shocking” leniency.
“We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither,” Harry and Lawrence said. The lawsuit, which dragged on for 46 days, targeted Associated Newspapers Ltd. over allegations that the publisher unlawfully obtained private information through shady tactics like phone hacking, private investigators, and corrupt payments.
Harry and six other high-profile claimants, including Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sadie Frost, failed to convince the judge that the disputed articles were the result of illegal information gathering. In his ruling, Justice Nicklin emphasized that suspicion alone wasn’t enough to prove liability. Harry and Lawrence called the decision “hard to understand or reconcile with common sense.”
Their statement didn’t hold back
“This judgment represents a complete reversal of the position which previous Judges have taken in relation to the hacking claims successfully brought against both News Group Newspapers and Mirror Group Newspapers,” they wrote. They pointed out that earlier courts had ruled private investigators used by the same publishers engaged in unlawful activity, yet this time, those findings were “wholly ignored.”
The pair called the ruling “a complete and obvious whitewash” and questioned how justice could be achieved when “the Court chose uncritically to believe” the Mail’s journalists despite “inconsistencies, contradictions and blatant untruths.” Harry and Baroness Lawrence also highlighted specific examples of what they saw as clear wrongdoing.
They referenced a private investigator who admitted on tape to unlawfully obtaining information about Baroness Lawrence, as well as a journalist who recorded the name of an investigator used to dig up sensitive medical details. This information was so private that even the Mail hesitated to publish it.
Another investigator, they claimed, emailed a journalist with the exact British Airways seat number and ticketing details of a young woman visiting her boyfriend, seemingly referring to Harry’s ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy. Harry had previously testified that the press engaged in “widespread invasion of my privacy” during his on-and-off relationship with Davy between 2004 and 2010.
The loss stings more because it comes on the heels of Harry’s previous legal victories against tabloids
Earlier this year, he reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers, and last year, he won a case against Mirror Group Newspapers over unlawful information gathering. Those wins made this defeat to the British tabloids feel like a step backward, especially since the ruling landed while Harry was in London for the Invictus Games.
Despite the setback, he kept his composure, even cracking a joke about the venue’s air conditioning during his speech at Chatham House. “It is one of the few rooms in the U.K. that has air conditioning, so I can understand why every seat is full,” he quipped. “I get it.” He left the event with a smile and a thumbs-up, though the legal battle is far from over.
The fallout from this case is just beginning. PEOPLE reports that Associated Newspapers Ltd., the publisher behind the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, is already pushing to recover nearly $67 million in legal costs from Harry and the other claimants. In a statement, ANL called the judge’s decision an “overwhelming victory” and accused the lawsuit of wasting “valuable court time.”
They’re now gearing up to recoup their expenses, though it’s unclear whether Harry and the others will be on the hook for the full amount. A hearing later this month will hash out the details, including any disputes over costs.
Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have fought with U.K. publishers over privacy in the past
In 2021, they won a symbolic £1 in damages from the Mail on Sunday after the paper published a private letter Meghan sent to her father. Harry also settled with The Sun’s publisher last year, securing an eight-figure payout and an apology for unlawful actions. His late mother, Princess Diana, faced similar battles. In 1993, she successfully sued the Daily Mirror, though the settlement details were never fully disclosed.
The stakes in this latest case feel personal. Harry has made it clear that his fight against the British tabloid press is not just about his own privacy but about holding an entire industry accountable. But with this ruling, that fight just got a lot harder. The judge’s decision to dismiss the claims raises questions about whether the system is equipped to handle cases where powerful publishers are accused of systemic wrongdoing.
For now, Harry and his legal team are regrouping, but the message in their statement is clear: they’re not backing down. “We presented to the Court evidence which we believed was compelling at the time and remains so now,” they wrote. “We would like to thank our legal team for all their hard work and all the witnesses who were brave enough to come forward in the pursuit of justice.”
The next hearing at the end of July could bring more clarity, or more frustration. Either way, Harry’s battle with the British press is far from over.
(Featured image: Ministerie van Defensie)
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