Prince Harry and six other celebrities face potential legal costs up to £34.5 million to the Daily Mail publisher after an English court dismissed their privacy infringement case.
On 22 August 2026, international news agencies reported that Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, along with six other public figures, may have to pay up to £34.5 million (about 1.5 billion baht) in legal costs to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail, following an English High Court order regarding costs in a privacy infringement case the claimants lost. The group of seven claimants, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, must pay an initial £9.54 million (around 420 million baht) to ANL by next Friday.
Reports state that on 7 July, the judge dismissed allegations that ANL had improperly obtained personal data, which ANL has consistently denied. Prince Harry and the six other claimants have until 2 October to file an appeal.
Besides Prince Harry and Sir Elton John, the other claimants include David Furnish, Sir Elton's husband; Sir Simon Hughes, former Deputy Leader of the UK Liberal Democrats; Baroness Lawrence, a racial equality campaigner; and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley.
Previously, the claimants had insurance covering ANL’s legal costs up to £16.2 million if they lost the case. However, the latest order allows ANL to recover costs claimed to have been incurred fighting the case up to £34.5 million, meaning the claimants could face an additional liability of about £18 million (around 780 million baht).
The judge stated that allegations of criminal wrongdoing or serious misconduct should not remain unresolved. If a party does not wish to pursue such allegations or lacks sufficient evidence, they should formally and clearly withdraw the claims.