Prince Harry, Elton John lose yearslong case against UK tabloid publisher

A four-year legal battle brought by Prince Harry and celebrities including Elton John, Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley against U.K. tabloids ended Tuesday in a U.K. courtroom.

Harry and six other defendants lost their High Court privacy case against Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, which they had accused of unlawful information gathering.

All of the claims were dismissed after the judge determined the plaintiffs had insufficient evidence to prove the allegations.

Harry and six other parties first launched legal action against the publisher in 2022, alleging they were "the victims of abhorrent criminal activity and gross breaches of privacy," the London-based law firm Hamlins, which is representing Harry and Frost in the case, said at the time.

The plaintiffs specifically accused the publisher of allegedly hiring private investigators who they claim used unlawful means to gather information on them in the late 1990s and early 2000s, including secretly placing listening devices inside cars and homes and allegedly paying police officials for inside information.

Associated Newspapers has denied all allegations from the plaintiffs, calling them "preposterous," and says the claims are "unsubstantiated and highly defamatory" and "based on no credible evidence."

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Harry traveled from California, where he now lives full-time, to London to testify in the case in January. In his testimony, Harry invoked the experiences of his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, and his mother, the late Princess Diana, who died in a car crash on Aug. 31, 1997, at the age of 36, while being pursued by paparazzi in Paris.

"I think it's fundamentally wrong [for Associated Newspapers Limited] to put us through this again when all we [claimants] required is an apology and some accountability," Harry said at the conclusion of his testimony. "It's a horrible experience and the worst bit of it is, by standing up here, they continue to come after me and make my wife's life an absolute misery."

The trial also included additional testimony from Harry's fellow plaintiffs, including Hurley and John.

Harry is currently in London for a previously-planned trip centered around several charities with which he is involved, including the Invictus Games.