Prince Harry and a group of six other high-profile figures have been ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54m to the Daily Mail’s publisher after they lost their High Court privacy case.
The claimants, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information-gathering, which ANL strenuously denied.
On 7 July, Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the claims and said the public figures had failed to prove the allegations.
It comes just days after the Duke and Duchess announced their plan to return to the UK, with their children Prince Archie, seven, and Princess Lilibet, five, enrolled to start school in September.
The seven claimants who have been ordered to pay an initial £9.5m in the coming week are Prince Harry, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, Sir Simon Hughes, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
During the trial, dozens of people gave evidence including Prince Harry and the other claimants. The Duke of Sussex flew in from the US to attend court in person.
Many current and former Associated Newspapers journalists and executives gave evidence denying illegal activity.
In a joint statement following the judge’s ruling last month, Prince Harry and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, another claimant and peer whose son Stephen was murdered in 1993, said: “We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither.”
“It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected”, the pair added.
ANL had asked for more than £9.9 million as an interim payment ahead of future hearings to decide its legal costs in depth.
However, lawyers for the claimants said the interim payment should be just over £7.9 million.
Mr Justice Nicklin previously said the claimants would need to pay the interim payment on August 28.
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