The Duke of Sussex and six other high-profile claimants, including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley, failed to prove that Associated Newspapers had used unlawful methods to obtain private information. The publisher called the ruling a vindication of its journalism, while the claimants could now face a huge legal costs bill.

Prince Harry has suffered a major legal defeat after the High Court in London dismissed his privacy case against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail, the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline.

The Duke of Sussex was one of seven claimants who accused the publisher of using unlawful information-gathering methods over several years, including phone hacking, landline tapping, surveillance, deception and the use of private investigators. The other claimants were Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and former Liberal Democrat minister Simon Hughes.

In a written ruling, Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all the claims, finding that the claimants had not proved that the information used in the disputed articles had been obtained unlawfully. The judge said the court could not simply infer wrongdoing where there was also a realistic possibility that stories had been sourced through legitimate routes, such as press officers, previous reporting, friends, aides or publicists.

The case centred on around 50 articles and incidents published or alleged to have taken place between the late 1990s and the 2010s. Associated Newspapers denied all wrongdoing throughout the proceedings, describing the allegations as “lurid” and “preposterous”. Its journalists and editors gave evidence denying illegal activity, with the publisher arguing that the stories were lawfully sourced.

Following the ruling, Associated Newspapers called the judgment an “overwhelming victory” for the Daily Mail, its journalists and the free press. The company said the court had dismissed every one of the 97 allegations made by the claimants and that no credible evidence had been presented for some of the most serious claims, including allegations of bugs being placed in homes and cars, calls being listened to in real time and bank accounts being accessed unlawfully.

The legal battle could now leave the claimants facing a substantial costs bill. AP reported that legal costs for years of preparation and the 11-week trial were estimated at around £40 million, while the Guardian and Sky News reported that the wider bill could reach as much as £50 million.

Prince Harry travelled from California to London earlier this year to give evidence in the case. During his testimony, he became emotional as he described the impact of tabloid intrusion on his life and said the press had made his wife Meghan’s life “an absolute misery”, although the Duchess of Sussex was not a claimant in this case.

The defeat marks a significant setback in Prince Harry’s long-running campaign against sections of the British tabloid press. He had previously won a 2023 case against Mirror Group Newspapers over phone hacking and later settled a separate claim against the publisher of The Sun, which issued an apology over unlawful intrusion.

A further hearing is expected later this month to deal with consequential orders, including costs.