Prince Harry Loses Legal Battle Against Daily Mail Publisher, Claims Dismissed

London – Prince Harry has lost his legal battle against the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday tabloid newspapers, according to court documents seen by CBS News on Tuesday. All claims were dismissed by the court, marking what is expected to be the last courtroom battle for the prince against British media outlets.

Harry, along with pop star Elton John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, accused the publisher of Associated Newspapers (ANL) of unlawfully gathering information through methods such as phone tapping, intercepting voicemails, and impersonating people. The court ruled that these claims could not be proven, dismissing them on Tuesday.

The alleged incidents took place between 1993 and 2011 but continued into 2018. ANL had previously denied wrongdoing, calling the allegations “preposterous” and stating that all articles cited in the lawsuit were based on information gathered lawfully through people close to the claimants. The publisher argued for the case to be thrown out due to the passage of time since the alleged transgressions.

At the start of the lawsuit in January, Harry said press snooping had made him “paranoid beyond belief.” Last year, the Sun newspaper’s publisher paid the duke substantial damages and profusely apologized. In 2023, Harry won 15 out of 33 claims of phone hacking against Mirror Group Newspapers, receiving around $180,000 in damages.

The ruling came during a rare visit by Harry to the U.K., amid speculation about whether he would bring his wife Meghan and their two children, Archie and Lilibet. The prince engaged in public discussions with Buckingham Palace over where he stays and security arrangements for him and his family if they joined him in Britain.

Harry has long blamed the media for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by press photographers. He also cited media attacks on Meghan as one of the reasons behind their decision to abandon their royal roles and move to the U.S. in 2020.”