Media Litigation
The legal record — judgments, settlements, and ongoing claims, from court documents rather than commentary.
The strategy
Since 2019, Harry has pursued privacy and unlawful-information-gathering claims against British newspaper publishers through the courts. The outcomes below are matters of court record — judgments, approved settlement statements, and case-management orders — not press characterizations.
Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) — judgment, December 2023
Harry was one of several claimants in the phone-hacking trial against MGN (publisher of the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror and The People). In December 2023, Mr Justice Fancourt ruled that MGN had engaged in unlawful information gathering against Harry — phone hacking and “blagging” — and awarded him £140,600 in damages. Harry gave evidence in person in June 2023, the first senior royal to do so in over a century — a matter of court record. In his statement after the judgment he called it “a great day for truth” — his words, on the record.
News Group Newspapers (NGN) — settlement, January 2025
Harry’s claim against NGN (publisher of The Sun and the former News of the World) was due for trial in January 2025. On the opening day, NGN settled: it issued a “full and unequivocal apology” to Harry — including, for the first time, an admission of unlawful activity at The Sun — and paid substantial damages (the figure was not disclosed; press estimates are unattributed and not repeated here). The settlement also covered unlawful intrusion into the private life of his late mother, Diana — a point Harry made in his public statement, on the record.
Associated Newspapers — ongoing
Harry is a co-claimant (with Sir Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, Sadie Frost and Doreen Lawrence) in a privacy claim against Associated Newspapers (publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday), alleging unlawful information gathering. The publisher denies the allegations. The case is proceeding through the High Court; a trial is expected in 2026. Status: alleged, denied, not yet tried — this site will update when there is a judgment.
The security litigation (related)
Separately, Harry challenged the 2020 removal of his automatic UK police protection. In February 2024 the High Court upheld the decision; in May 2025 the Court of Appeal rejected his appeal. He gave a BBC interview the same day — his account of the decision’s consequences, on the record. Status: decided against him; public record.
Source notes
- MGN: High Court judgment, December 2023 (Mr Justice Fancourt); contemporary court reporting (BBC, Guardian, Reuters).
- NGN: the approved settlement statement read in open court, January 2025; the parties’ public statements.
- Associated Newspapers: High Court case-management records; the publisher’s denials are on record.
- Security: High Court judgment (February 2024); Court of Appeal judgment (May 2025).