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.