Prince Harry and six other high-profile figures have been ordered to make an initial payment of £9.54 million in legal costs to the Daily Mail's publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL). This follows the loss of their High Court privacy case.
The seven claimants, who include Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, must pay this initial sum by August 28. They could potentially be required to pay up to £25 million more in further costs.
The group had sued ANL over allegations of unlawful information-gathering, which the publisher had denied. On July 7, Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the claims, stating the public figures failed to prove their allegations.
The judge made an exceptional order for the Duke and others to pay up to £34.5 million in costs incurred by ANL, partly due to unsupportable claims that top executives had lied to the Leveson public inquiry. Prince Harry and the other six claimants have until October 2 to attempt to launch an appeal.
In a joint statement after the ruling last month, Prince Harry and Baroness Doreen Lawrence said: "We came to Court seeking justice and accountability. But we have received neither." They added, "It is a complete and obvious whitewash, but sadly not altogether unexpected."