Prince Harry and six claimants face up to £18m costs

Prince Harry and six other prominent claimants face the prospect of personally paying millions in legal costs as a two-day hearing began at London's High Court on Wednesday, July 29, 2026. The hearing follows a comprehensive defeat for the group in their privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.

The court is now tasked with determining the financial consequences of that defeat. ANL is pursuing up to 34.5 million pounds in legal costs from the group, having indicated its total bill for defending the four-year litigation exceeded 50 million pounds. While both sides agree the claimants must cover ANL's costs, the central dispute is whether those costs should be calculated on a standard or a more punitive indemnity basis.

An indemnity costs order, which ANL is seeking, would remove the usual cap on recoverable expenses, compelling the claimants to shoulder the full weight of both sides' legal bills. Antony White KC, representing the publisher, argued such an award was warranted because the case was conducted "outside the norm." In written submissions, he contended the claimants' allegations of phone hacking, bugging,...