Prince Harry and six other public figures could face a legal bill of up to £34.5 million after a High Court judge ordered them to cover a much larger share of the publisher’s legal costs in their failed privacy case.
The seven claimants, including Sir Elton John and actress Liz Hurley, must initially pay £9.54 million to Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) by Friday next week.
The judge described the case as unusual and said the claimants had presented their arguments in a way that was “unreasonable to a high degree.”
On July 7, Mr Justice Nicklin rejected their claims that ANL had unlawfully gathered private information. The newspaper publisher had denied the allegations.
Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, and the other claimants have until October 2 to seek permission to appeal the ruling.
The other claimants are Elton John’s husband David Furnish, former Liberal Democrat deputy leader Sir Simon Hughes, racial justice campaigner Baroness Lawrence, and actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley.
The claimants had insurance covering up to £16.2 million of ANL’s legal costs if they lost the case. However, the latest ruling allows ANL to seek up to £34.5 million in costs.
As a result, Prince Harry and the other claimants could face an additional bill of around £18 million.