Collected collage

LONDON, July 7, 2026 (BSS/AFP) - Prince Harry and Elton John on Tuesday

lost their case against the Daily Mail's publisher for alleged unlawful

information gathering, according to a ruling by London's High Court.

A written judgment published following an 11-week trial earlier this year

said the "claimants failed to prove their pleaded allegations... the claims

are therefore dismissed".

Welcoming the judgment by Judge Matthew Nicklin, Associated Newspapers called

it an "overwhelming victory" and a "magnificent vindication of the Daily

Mail's journalism".

It said the court's dismissal of the "every single one of the 97 allegations

made by the claimants" showed the judge had "accepted the honesty of our

journalists' evidence on how they sourced their stories".

Allegations that bugs had been placed in people's cars and homes, calls had

been listened to and bank accounts illicitly accessed had been "lurid" and

"preposterous" with no "credible evidence" ever presented, Associated said in

a statement.

"The reputations of our decent and hard-working journalists were terribly

impugned, and today they have been exonerated," it added.

The prince gave emotional testimony during the proceedings in which several

high-profile figures, including John and actor Elizabeth Hurley, accused the

tabloid publisher of invading their privacy.

Harry's lawyers had said they were seeking "substantial" damages on behalf of

their clients over articles dating from 1993 to 2018.

It was the third and final case brought by the Duke of Sussex in his

acrimonious legal battle with British tabloids, which has further strained

relations with the royal family.

- 'Disappointing' -

Harry, 41 -- the youngest son of King Charles III -- has also been involved

in other legal spats, including over his police protection in Britain

following his dramatic departure from frontline royal duties six years ago.

The prince, now living in California, arrived in Britain on Monday for a

five-day visit expected to go ahead mostly without his wife and children

after the family was refused police protection.

The trip, to mark the one-year countdown to next year's Invictus Games for

wounded veterans, which Harry founded, was meant to be his first family trip

back to the UK in four years.

But a source close to the Duke of Sussex told AFP that Harry's wife Meghan,

son Archie and daughter Lilibet would not accompany him on the London leg of

the trip after the family was refused security.

Arrangements for the rest of the trip were still under consideration, the

source said, leaving it unclear whether the whole family would visit but stay

outside the capital.

Contradictory statements about plans to stay at Buckingham Palace while in

London added to the prince's headaches.

Just ahead of Harry's arrival, Buckingham Palace contradicted the duke's team

to say that he would not be staying at the palace after missing a deadline to

accept the accommodation offer.

Harry's spokesman said it was "disappointing" the offer to be hosted by his

father had been "withdrawn at the last moment", in a statement sent to AFP.

- Security woes -

It was unclear whether the prince would meet his father during the trip. He

is last understood to have met Charles, who is being treated for an

undisclosed form of cancer, at the monarch's London residence Clarence House

in September 2025.

Harry and Meghan left Britain for North America in 2020 amid a bitter feud

with his family, which worsened as Harry published his tell-all memoir

"Spare".

The prince has since said he wishes to reconcile with his father.

According to his spokesperson, Harry had to make "alternative security

arrangements" for the trip after publicly funded protection was refused,

contributing to the delay in accepting Buckingham Palace's accommodation

offer.

Last year, Harry said he felt unable to bring his family to Britain after

losing a court case to have his security restored during visits home.

Harry has long blamed the media for the death of his mother Princess Diana,

who was killed in a Paris car crash in 1997 while trying to shake off the

paparazzi.

BSS/AFP/BZC/2037HRS