The British High Court has dismissed all claims brought by Prince Harry, Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley and more against Associated Newspapers (ANL) in ending an 11-week trial into allegations of phone hacking and unlawful sourcing of stories by journalists at the Daily Mail.
The Duke of Sussex brought the claim alongside several celebrities and political figures. The group presented the court with 55 articles published between 1997 and 2015. It also included three incidents that did not lead to published stories.
The group argued this evidence demonstrated unlawful sourcing including phone hacking, landline tapping, bugging via private investigators and corrupt payments to police.
In his 436-page judgment, Justice Nicklin dismissed every claim. He found the claimants had not proved on the balance of probabilities that any specific information had been obtained unlawfully.
He also rejected the argument that a court could infer unlawful sourcing simply because a legitimate lawful pathway could not be positively established by the publisher.
The claimants’ case was weakened after a key witness, private investigator Gavin Burrows, disowned his own witness statement before the trial and denied carrying out illegal work for the Mail.
The judge found he could not rely on Burrows’ account and treated him as a compromised witness. ANL denied all wrongdoing throughout the case and argued the disputed stories were sourced legitimately from press officers. The publisher is expected to seek recovery of its legal costs estimated to be up to £50 million (A$96.3 million).
Harry and fellow claimant Baroness Doreen Lawrence responded with a joint statement condemning the outcome.
“It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected. However, the lengths to which the court has gone to exonerate the Mail is as shocking as it is totally unwarranted.”
It’s the last of several legal actions Prince Harry has brought against national newspaper groups over alleged historic unlawful reporting practices. He previously won substantial damages against the Daily Mirror’s publisher, Mirror Group Newspapers, after a judge found 15 of 33 articles examined were the product of phone hacking or other unlawful gathering, and settled a separate claim against News Group Newspapers, publisher of the Sun, in 2025.
The ruling lands against the backdrop of an ongoing and increasingly commercial chapter for the Sussexes. Harry and Meghan stepped back from royal duties in 2020, relocating to the US in a move widely dubbed “Megxit”. The pair have since built an independent media and lifestyle business spanning a Netflix docuseries and Meghan’s brand As Ever.
It’s against that backdrop that Taurus Marketing founder and chief executive Sharon Williams weighed in on what the result means for Harry’s brand.
Williams was unequivocal that the loss doesn’t undercut the substance of the fight.
“He’s just weak, but he is showing his strength in his decisions with the media,” Williams told B&T.
“I applaud him for taking on the media. I just don’t think he understands that the media control the world and very few people can get by with taking them to court unless they’ve got really good cause.”
Williams also pushed back on framing the case as a personal vendetta, pointing to the six other claimants who joined the action.
“It’s not just about Harry, it is other high-profile characters as well and we do need some system to keep the media honest,” she said.
“There were some pretty untoward things that used to go on that probably don’t go on now, for sure, because times have changed.”
Where Williams was more critical was of the couple’s broader trajectory since leaving royal life, which she said has done more damage to Harry’s public image than the court loss itself.
“Quite frankly, she’s wrecked his brand. He’s got a strong, ambitious, inauthentic wife who is pushing him to be the worst version of himself. I think it’s an absolute brand travesty, and it’s easy to fix for Harry, not easy to fix for her.”
Even so, Williams doesn’t see the situation as unsalvageable.
“I love the royal family. I think that they’ve got the most extraordinary platform to do good, and Megan is beautiful and articulate. Wouldn’t it be great if the two of them as a brand could pull it together and make it work.”
