Prince Harry, Elton John and others face multi-million legal bill after losing media privacy case

LONDON, ENGLAND: Prince Harry, Elton John and several other public figures are facing a costly legal battle after losing their privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail. 

During a hearing in London's High Court on Wednesday, July 29, the focus shifted to the multi-million-pound legal bill the claimants may now have to pay.

Although the High Court dismissed the case earlier this month, the legal dispute is far from over. The latest hearing focused on who should cover the publisher's legal costs, with both sides disagreeing over the amount. The outcome could leave the claimants paying millions more following their court defeat.

Prince Harry and Elton John face fresh setback after privacy lawsuit loss

The latest court hearing was not about the privacy claims themselves but about the legal costs that followed the case. Associated Newspapers argued that it spent around 34.5 million defending the lawsuit and asked the court to order the claimants to make an interim payment of 10 million while the final costs are calculated.

Lawyers for Prince Harry, Elton John and the other people involved in the case argued that the requested amount was too high. They told the court that the group's legal insurance covers only about 16 million, which is much lower than the publisher's claimed expenses. Instead, they proposed making an interim payment of 8 million.

The original lawsuit accused Associated Newspapers of gathering private information through unlawful methods, including phone hacking, using private investigators and deception. However, the High Court dismissed all of the claims, finding that the evidence presented was not strong enough to support the allegations.

Legal fight continues despite court defeat as Prince Harry's court battle enters a new phase

The privacy lawsuit may be over, but the legal fight is still not finished. The court must now decide how much Prince Harry and the other claimants will have to pay and whether Associated Newspapers can recover most of its legal costs.

Prince Harry and the others also want to appeal the High Court's decision. However, the court will only consider that request after Judge Matthew Nicklin decides on the legal costs. The hearing will continue on Thursday.

For Prince Harry, this is another setback in his long-running legal battle with the British press. Although he has won cases against other newspaper groups in the past, this lawsuit ended in a loss. The final decision on legal costs could leave him and the other claimants with a large bill, adding to the consequences of their court defeat.