A UK court ruled against Prince Harry and several other celebrities in their joint lawsuit against Associated Newspapers for allegedly illegally obtaining information to write news stories.
Foreign news agencies reported on 7 Jul 2026 that Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, along with six other well-known figures including Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, lost their case against Associated Newspapers, publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, for illegally gathering information used in news reports.
Justice Nicklin dismissed all 97 allegations, stating that the plaintiffs only had "suspicions," which the court understood, but they could not present evidence proving illegal information gathering had occurred.
Meanwhile, the judge accepted testimony and evidence from Daily Mail journalists explaining that their sources were obtained legally, and ruled that three senior executives did not give false statements.
A spokesperson for the publisher said the case caused wasted court time and legal costs exceeding £50 million (approximately 2.2 billion baht).
Prince Harry and Baroness Lawrence said in a joint statement, "We came to court seeking justice and accountability but received none. This is a complete whitewash, sadly as expected."
Paul Decker, editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, said all allegations were "fabricated" and should never have been brought to court, calling the verdict a rightful and major victory for the media.
This case marks a significant defeat for Prince Harry, who had previously won similar cases against other media groups such as Mirror Group Newspapers and received damages from the Sun newspaper.
The court has scheduled an additional two days of hearings starting on 29 Jul.
Prince Harry accused the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday of publishing 14 articles based on his personal information that was allegedly gathered illegally.
Elizabeth Hurley filed a lawsuit after reports about a paternity dispute involving her son with American businessman Steve Bing.
Sadie Frost's claims covered 11 articles, including drafts related to her ectopic pregnancy.
Baroness Lawrence alleged that five articles used "stolen" information concerning herself and the investigation into the murder of her son, Stephen.
Sir Elton John filed a suit regarding the publication of details about the birth of his son, born via surrogacy with his husband David Furnish, including the release of the birth certificate before they received the official document.
Sir Simon Hughes accused the Mail newspaper of "exploiting his sexual orientation," referring to a 2006 incident when Hughes was "outed as gay on the front page of The Sun newspaper."
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Source:bbc