LONDON: Prince Harry on Friday launched a legal challenge after losing a privacy case against the publisher of the British tabloid the Daily Mail.
The case is the third and final one brought by the Duke of Sussex in his acrimonious legal battle with British tabloids.
The High Court in August ordered Harry and six others, including pop legend Elton John, to make an initial payment of £9.5 million (US$13 million) to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) after finding against them a month earlier.
Harry, the 42-year-old younger son of King Charles III, and the other claimants were seeking to appeal on the grounds that the judgment and costs ruling were “legally and factually flawed”, a statement sent to AFP by law firm Sheridans said.
The group had “today filed applications with the Court of Appeal for permission to appeal”, the statement added.
The claimants in the case — who also include John’s husband David Furnish and actors Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost — had accused the Mail of bugging their cars and homes, listening in on calls and other privacy breaches. ANL had denied all the allegations.
The appeal bid comes after Harry, formally known as the Duke of Sussex, and his wife Meghan, 45, moved back to the UK in August with their two young children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five.
The couple left Britain and quit royal duties in 2020 amid a bitter royal family feud.
After an emotional 11-week trial — during which Harry gave in-person evidence — judge Matthew Nicklin in July sided with the newspaper publisher, concluding that the claimants had failed to prove their allegations.
After a further two-day hearing over costs, he made the initial costs decision, while again criticising the claimants’ case as “speculative”.
Huge costs
The court noted that ANL estimated its total costs defending itself had reached about £34.5 million by July 9.
However, the ruling noted that the High Court had not determined how much of those costs the claimants must ultimately pay.
The matter is set to be determined at a separate hearing.
Nicklin rejected requests by Harry and the others to pay