Prince Harry’s & Elton John’s Long Legal Battle With the Daily Mail Just Got a Lot More Expensive

Prince Harry has spent years locked in a string of legal battles against Britain’s tabloid press, framing the fight as a matter of accountability for an industry he’s accused of crossing ethical and legal lines for decades. That fight has taken him through multiple courtrooms, and this summer’s case against the publisher of the Daily Mail was one of the most closely watched yet.

The case wrapped up last month with a defeat for Harry and his co-claimants, and now the financial consequences of that loss are starting to land. The High Court trial in London, which ran 11 weeks before concluding on July 7, ended with Justice Matthew Nicklin ruling there had been a shortage of evidence to support the group’s claims.

According to a new post from Variety, Prince Harry, Elton John and five other high-profile figures have now been ordered to pay $13 million in legal costs to Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail, after losing their privacy case against the company. The group had sued the publisher over allegations of unlawful information gathering, and the interim payment is due by August 28, giving them just about a week to pay.

The other claimants alongside Harry and John include Doreen Lawrence, the anti-racism activist whose son Stephen was stabbed to death in 1993, Elton John’s husband David Furnish, actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley, and politician Simon Hughes. The publisher has said it accumulated more than £34 million during the case, meaning this initial payment represents only a portion of what the group could ultimately owe.

Nicklin didn’t hold back in explaining his reasoning for the ruling. In comments accompanying the award, the judge pointed to the “speculative” nature of the claims and criticized the claimants for failing to voluntarily withdraw serious allegations that could no longer be backed up by evidence.

Reaction from the group has been limited so far, though not entirely silent. Simon Hughes told the Associated Press he was “disappointed and surprised” that the publisher’s recoverable costs weren’t capped, while the rest of the claimants have yet to comment publicly on the judge’s decision.

That silence stands in contrast to the joint statement Harry and Lawrence issued after last month’s verdict. Speaking to Variety following the case’s dismissal, the pair said, “We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither.” The pointed remark captured the frustration of a legal effort that ultimately produced the opposite outcome the group had hoped for.

The claimants now have until October 2 to decide whether they’ll appeal the ruling, leaving the door open for this fight to continue even as the bills start coming due. This case brought an end to a trio of lawsuits Harry had filed against tabloid publishers over allegedly unlawful tactics, including phone hacking and hiring private investigators to dig into his personal life, a legal campaign that dates back years and has produced mixed results.

The financial hit also lands at a notable moment for Harry personally. The ruling arrived just days after news broke that he and Meghan Markle are planning a return to the U.K., adding an unexpected wrinkle to what was already shaping up to be a significant transition for the couple. Whether this latest defeat changes the calculus on any further legal action against Britain’s tabloid press remains to be seen, but for now, the group is left facing a bill that’s only expected to grow.

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