The Duke of Sussex accused the press of making his wife’s life an “absolute misery” when he gave evidence in his trial against the publisher of the Daily Mail, telling the judge: “They continue to come after me”.
On Tuesday, Harry, who is in the UK carrying out charity visits, had his claims of unlawful information gathering by Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) dismissed in a High Court ruling.
The King’s youngest son was on the verge of tears in January when he appeared in court, saying his case against the publisher felt like a “recurring traumatic experience” and a “repeat of the past”.
He denied having “leaky” social circles and using the pseudonym “Mr Mischief” to message a female Mail on Sunday journalist.
And he insisted that for the press to “claim that I don’t have any right to privacy is disgusting”.
The duke maintained 14 articles written between 2001 and 2013 and published by ANL were based on unlawful information gathering, which Associated strongly denied.
Mr Justice Nicklin said in his ruling on Tuesday that he accepted the limited evidence given by the Duke of Sussex at trial in January.
But he ruled that neither Harry nor other household names, including Baroness Lawrence and Sir Elton John, had proven the allegations of unlawful information gathering.
In a 436-page written judgment, the judge said it was apparent that Harry wished the court to “understand the personal impact of the matters in issue”.
“As I indicated to Prince Harry at the time, that is not uncommon: many litigants feel a strong instinct to argue their case themselves,” Mr Justice Nicklin said.
“However, when giving evidence, that is not a burden they are required to carry. The responsibility for advancing the party’s case rests with the advocate.
“Overall, this did not affect the quality of Prince Harry’s evidence, which I accept.
“As with each of the claimants, Prince Harry has limited evidence to give on the contentious matters in dispute.”
Among the duke’s allegations were that a private investigator called Mike Behr was commissioned to unlawfully obtain flight details and the seat number of Harry’s then-girlfriend Chelsy Davy for her journey to South Africa, and that Mr Behr suggested to journalists that they could “plant someone next to her”.
Other articles related to “the intimate family matter” of Harry being chosen as godfather to the child of his former nanny Tiggy Legge-Bourke.
Another was about Harry’s “intimate relationship” with TV presenter Natalie Pinkham, where Harry alleged his “privacy was invaded” through UIG (unlawful information gathering).
And it was “beyond cruel”, Harry said in a written statement, for ANL to publish an article about “confidential discussions” with his brother, the now-Prince of Wales, after a photograph of their dying mother was published in the Italian press.
ANL described the dismissal of all of the 97 allegations made by the claimants as “magnificent vindication of the Daily Mail’s journalism”.
Harry said he had always had an “uneasy relationship” with the press, but that the mantra of the royal family was “never complain, never explain” and there was “no alternative”.
As a young prince, Harry grew up fully aware of the impact of overwhelming media intrusion on the daily life of his mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
Harry was 12 when Diana was killed in a crash after her car, driven at speed by a drunk chauffeur, was chased through the streets of Paris by the paparazzi.
Decades later, the late Queen’s grandson was dubbed the predator of the “big beasts of the tabloid jungle” for his hard-fought battles against elements of the press.
In 2025, he settled a case against News Group Newspapers (NGN), receiving substantial damages and a “full and unequivocal apology” for both “serious intrusion” into his private life and “unlawful activities” by The Sun.
He hailed it as a “monumental victory” – and there was a key apology too by NGN for the “extensive coverage and serious intrusion” into his personal life and that of Diana, when Harry was a child.
Lord Watson – Harry’s co-claimant in the NGN case – said: “I once said that the big beasts of the tabloid jungle have no predators. I was wrong, they have Prince Harry.”
Just months after Harry fell for American actress Meghan Markle in 2016, he attacked the media over its “abuse and harassment” of his then-girlfriend.
Kensington Palace warned on his behalf: “This is not a game – it is her life.”
They said Suits star Meghan had experienced “the smear on the front page of a national newspaper; the racial undertones of comment pieces; and the outright sexism and racism of social media trolls and web article comments”.
Harry’s dislike of the press appeared to intensify following the birth of his first child, Prince Archie, in 2019 as he sought to protect his family.
The same year, the Sussexes overshadowed the end of their official tour to South Africa by each bringing separate legal actions against tabloid newspapers, with Meghan suing the Mail on Sunday over breach of privacy when it published a private letter between her and her estranged father, Thomas Markle. She went on to win the case in 2021.
Harry filed his own proceedings – the case against NGN, which owns The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World – and another against Mirror Group Newspapers, which publishes the Daily Mirror.
He also released a scathing attack on the tabloid press, in which he heavily criticised certain sections of the media for conducting what he called a “ruthless campaign” against his wife.
“I lost my mother and now I watch my wife falling victim to the same powerful forces,” he said.
The Sussexes dropped their Megxit bombshell at the start of 2020, saying they intended to step back as senior royals for a dual role earning their own money and supporting Queen Elizabeth II.
The royal crisis ended with them quitting the monarchy completely and having to drop the use of their HRH styles.
In the aftermath, Harry spoke of how he wanted his family to have a “more peaceful” life away from the royal family.
The Sussexes vowed to end co-operation with four British tabloid newspapers: the Daily Mail, Daily Express, the Daily Mirror and The Sun; along with their Sunday and online versions.
A letter sent on Harry and Meghan’s behalf to the publications’ editors hit out at reporting it claimed was “distorted, false, and invasive beyond reason”.
In the years since the Sussexes moved to California and started a new life away from the monarchy, the couple took charge of their own story, with controversial output through a televised Oprah Winfrey interview, their Netflix documentary and Harry’s memoir, Spare.
There were accusations of racism in relation to Archie’s skin tone before he was born – with the remarks in the end alleged to have come from two senior royals – and claims Kensington Palace lied to protect William over reports he allegedly bullied Harry out of the royal family.
The duke also accused his brother of physically attacking him and throwing him into a dog bowl in a row over Meghan, teasing him about his panic attacks, and, along with the now-Princess of Wales, encouraging him to wear a Nazi uniform at a fancy dress party.
In June 2023, Harry became the first senior royal in more than two decades to appear personally in court proceedings, when he faced nearly eight hours of questioning in his claim against MGN.
Mr Justice Fancourt later ruled that phone hacking became “widespread and habitual” at MGN titles – the Daily Mirror, the Sunday Mirror and the Sunday People – in the late 1990s, and that it hacked Harry’s phone “to a modest extent”.
He awarded the duke £140,600 in damages after finding 15 articles about Harry were the product of unlawful information gathering.
Meanwhile, more recently, there appears to have been a rapprochement between Harry and The Sun.
In April, a journalist from the newspaper joined Harry on a secret trip to Ukraine to see the duke deliver a major speech calling for Russian President Vladimir Putin to stop the war.
