Harry court case: Which other celebrities took legal action against the Mail?
A High Court verdict will be handed down on Tuesday in the case brought by the Duke of Sussex and six other celebrities against the publisher of the Daily Mail.
Prince Harry and other plaintiffs accuse Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) of illegally collecting information, including hiring private detectives to plant listening devices in cars and “spoiling” private records. The publisher vehemently denied these allegations throughout the hearing.
The decision is planned to be announced at 14.00.
We look at the household names making the claims:
Duke of Sussex
The Duke of Sussex, the king’s second son and fifth son to the throne, has publicly expressed his desire to reform the media.
Harry, 41, stepped back as senior royal staffer in early 2020 and then moved to North America with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex.
ANL became the third publisher to face legal action from the duke after suing News Group Newspapers (NGN), formerly publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World newspaper, and Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), which publishes The Mirror, for allegedly illegal doxxing.
In June 2023, Harry became the first senior royal in more than two decades to attend court hearings in person as he faced nearly eight hours of questioning in his claim against MGN.
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled in December that year that phone hacking had become “common and habitual” in MGN games in the late 1990s and that Harry’s phone had been hacked “to a modest extent”.
It awarded the Duke £140,600 in compensation after finding 15 articles about Harry were the product of illegal information gathering.
Then, in January last year, Harry settled his claim against NGN on the second day of a legal action hearing, with the broadcaster apologizing to the duke and agreeing to pay significant compensation.
In the case against ANL, Harry went to court again, appearing for the trial to begin at the High Court in London, then again giving evidence to support his own case, and then supporting the other plaintiffs.
Harry’s statement ended with his wife, the Duchess of Sussex, a father of two, breaking down in tears as he claimed his life had become “absolute misery”.
Doreen Lawrence
Baroness Doreen Lawrence of Clarendon is known for her campaign following the racist attack in which her 18-year-old son Stephen Lawrence was killed in 1993.
The promising architect was stabbed to death by a group of up to six white youths while waiting at a bus stop on Well Hall Road in Eltham, south-east London.
The Daily Mail, under then editor Paul Dacre, was campaigning to bring Mr Lawrence’s killers to justice.
On the front page of the newspaper’s 14 February 1997 issue, the newspaper labeled five men – Gary Dobson, Neil Acourt, Jamie Acourt, Luke Knight and David Norris – as “murderers” and invited them to sue the newspaper for libel.
In January 2012, Dobson and Norris were convicted of participating in the attack and sentenced to life imprisonment after a forensic examination of the case found significant new scientific evidence regarding clothing seized from their home following the murder.
Lady Lawrence took her seat in the House of Lords in 2013.
The High Court previously heard the peer was “warned” of a possible legal claim by a message from Harry.
During the trial, she testified to the court that the Daily Mail had pretended to support her in getting justice for her son, but only wanted “the credibility of supporting a black family”.
Lady Lawrence’s allegations relate to five articles published between 1997 and 2007.
His lawyers claim he was “extensively targeted” by private detectives and ANL.
Sir Elton John and David Furnish
Elton Hercules John was born Reginald Kenneth Dwight on March 25, 1947, and developed this name into his professional name. He was educated at Pinner County Grammar School and the Royal Academy of Music.
Sir Elton was knighted for his services to music and charity in 1998 and was inducted into the Order of Honor in November 2021 for his services to music and charity.
Throughout his career spanning more than six decades, he has performed on some of the world’s biggest stages, sold more than 300 million records worldwide and won numerous awards, including two Oscars for best original score.
The artist and her long-term partner David Furnish entered a civil partnership in 2005 and married nine years later in December 2014, following the legalization of same-sex marriage in the UK.
The couple has two sons named Zachary and Elijah.
During the hearing, the pair gave evidence via video link on separate days.
Sir Simon Hughes
Sir Simon, a former Liberal Democrat MP, represented Bermondsey and Old Southwark for a period of 32 years until 2015.
The qualified lawyer was also the Liberal Democrats’ candidate for Mayor of London in 2004 and was elected deputy leader of the party in 2010.
In 2019, Sir Simon sued NGN for misuse of proprietary information and breach of trust.
He accepted “significant” compensation from the publisher in 2021.
NGN also paid its legal costs but denied any liability for The Sun.
The former politician said at his hearing against ANL that he found the allegation that the broadcaster had targeted him using “illegal methods” for its “own interests” “regrettable”.
His allegation was not related to any published article, but instead to alleged unlawful information gathering (UIG) reportedly involving a Mail on Sunday journalist.
Elizabeth Hurley
Ms Hurley is no stranger to legal battles with the press, having previously complained of intrusion into her privacy, including over her pregnancy and paternity dispute.
In February 2019, the actress and model settled her phone hacking claim against NGN, just days before an expected hearing in London.
In May 2017, he received damages and an apology from MGN in settling an allegation that proprietary information regarding 58 articles was misused between 1998 and 2007.
MGN admitted that “some of the articles” it complained about resulted from illegal activities.
The mother-of-one, best known for her leading roles in Austin Powers and Bedazzled, also had a high-profile relationship with former Australian cricketer Shane Warne and was previously married to Indian textile heir Arun Nayar.
The actress and model cried several times while giving evidence in the trial, which was watched by Harry and his son Damian Hurley.
Sadie Don
An actress and filmmaker, Ms. Frost also has experience with legal battles in the media.
In 2015 he was paid a record £260,250 compensation by MGN for phone hacking.
The mother of four complained about 31 articles; 27 of these were deemed by the broadcaster to be the product of phone hacking.
His case, filed alongside former Coronation Street actress Shobna Gulati, former footballer Paul Gascoigne and others, was the first over phone hacking in years of litigation.
Ms Frost rose to fame in the 1990s as part of the “Primrose Hill Set” of North London celebrities, including fellow supermodel Kate Moss.
Her previous marriages, to Spandau Ballet’s Gary Kemp and actor Jude Law, attracted media attention.
In her lawsuit against ANL, Ms Frost claimed her privacy had been invaded by phone hacking and tapping of Mr Law’s landline while they discussed the details of their divorce settlement.
Giving evidence, he claimed that articles about him in the Daily Mail “made me pay a price”.
