The judge was unconvinced by the Duke of Sussex's argument that his privacy had been invaded
The Daily Mail has triumphed over Prince Harry in the royal’s last lawsuit against a British tabloid, reported The Associated Press.
UK High Court justice Matthew Nicklin was unconvinced by Prince Harry’s argument that the Mail’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd., unlawfully invaded his privacy in its reporting for about 50 articles. The publications had countered its sources – which included friends, royal aides, and publicists – were lawful.
Nicklin ruled that supportive evidence for Prince Harry’s side was lacking and it was possible that the Mail had legitimate sources.
“In substance, the claimants’ case invites the Court to conclude that, because the information was private and because Associated cannot positively explain how it was sourced, the article must have been unlawfully sourced,” Nicklin wrote in a 436-page decision delivered on Tuesday July 7, a snippet of which was published by AP News. “That is not a permissible approach.”
Associated Newspapers applauded the court decision as an “overwhelming victory” and a “magnificent vindication” of the Mail’s journalistic process, per statements published by AP News. Prince Harry, meanwhile, decried the ruling as a “complete and obvious whitewash.”
“The lengths to which the court has gone to exonerate the Mail is as shocking as it is totally unwarranted,” he said in a joint statement with anti‑racism activist Doreen Lawrence, a snippet of which was published by AP News.
The judgment kills an attempt by Prince Harry and other claimants to secure significant damages. Both sides have incurred more than £50 million in legal expenses for case preparation and the 11-week trial, per ANL.
Media lawyer Mark Stephens, who has no involvement in the matter, noted in a statement published by AP News that it was “a mosaic case where little inferences from different things were being put together by the lawyers for Prince Harry.”
“Associated Newspapers’ lawyers cleverly rearranged the tiles to show an innocent picture as opposed to the culpable picture that the claimants’ lawyers were trying to demonstrate,” Stephens said in a statement published by AP News.
Nicklin’s decision was published remotely and without a court hearing.
Last year, Prince Harry reached a settlement with News Group Newspapers.
