Prince Harry awaits High Court ruling in Daily Mail publisher privacy case

07 July 2026 , 08:56

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Harry arrived in the UK on Monday evening and so will be in the country when the judgment is published on Tuesday afternoon, after an 11-week trial earlier this year in his claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over alleged unlawful information gathering.

A group of household names, also including Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, alleged acts including voicemail interception, landline tapping and obtaining information by deception – also known as “blagging”, carried out by private investigators, freelance journalists and ANL staff.

ANL strongly denies the claims and defended the case, saying it “has established a complete defence to all parts of the claims on the merits” and that the cases have been brought too late.

Judge Mr Justice Nicklin will give his written ruling on the case via email at 2pm.

The decision comes as Harry’s accommodation arrangements for his UK visit descended into chaos, ahead of five days of appearances in London and Birmingham, including marking the one-year countdown to the 2027 Invictus Games.

The duke will not stay at Buckingham Palace during his return, with his spokesman saying on Monday that it was “disappointing” the offer from the King had been “withdrawn at the last moment”, with the looming judgment given as the reason.

It is understood the duke initially turned down the offer for himself and his family, who are no longer accompanying him to London, on Saturday, before making a U-turn later in the day and asking to stay himself.

The appropriate hospitality and staffing provision was said to be no longer available, with Buckingham Palace also believing the longstanding legal case had complicated the matter, and could compromise the King’s constitutional position.

It is said that while every effort was made to facilitate Harry’s stay, as a courtesy to staff and others involved, the Royal Household requires a minimum level of notice to ensure he could be hosted appropriately at a royal residence.

The duke wanted to stay at the Palace for just one night, the Press Association understands.

Questions have been raised on the Sussex side as to whether the offer of a bed at a royal residence was ever intended to be available once Harry had accepted it.

He is said to have acted in good faith throughout the process, spending most of last week making alternative arrangements before formally accepting the offer for himself – for a single night.

Private conversations are said to have taken place between the duke and his father.

Harry and his team are understood to be frustrated that the reasons given for the withdrawal of the offer shifted from not accepting the accommodation to the forthcoming judgment.

The duke’s first public event of his return to the UK will be an Invictus Games Foundation conference at Chatham House, as part of the One Year to Go celebrations for the Games being held in Birmingham in 2027.

The event will bring together members of the Invictus community, leading experts and policymakers, including the minister for veterans and people Calvin Bailey, to discuss issues affecting wounded, injured and sick service personnel and veterans.

Actress Elizabeth Hurley arrives with her son Damian Hurley outside the High Court in London qhxidiqxkiqtkinv

Dozens of people gave evidence during the trial in London, including Harry, the rest of the group of household names of Liz Hurley, Sadie Frost and Sir Simon Hughes, as well as many current or former ANL journalists and executives.

During around two hours of cross-examination in January, Harry said he could not complain about some of the 14 articles in his case at the time “because of the institution I was in”.

He also said in his written evidence that “knowingly false” information was added to stories to “put me off the scent”, to conceal unlawful methods, including voicemail interception.

As part of its defence, ANL said that Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday journalists provide a “compelling account of a pattern of legitimate sourcing of articles”, including friends and “leaky” social circles, press officers and spokespersons, as well as previous reporting, freelance journalists and stories from other newspapers and news agencies.

The trial also heard arguments over whether the cases were brought in time as the law states that legal action related to unlawful information-gathering must be launched within six years of someone discovering they could have a claim.