Prince Harry, along with six other household names, has been ordered to pay more than £9.5million to the Daily Mail’s publisher.
It marks the first round of legal costs following their failed High Court case.
The high-profile figures, also including Baroness Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information-gathering.
ANL strongly denied the claims, which were heard at an 11-week trial in London
Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed all the cases in a ruling on July 7.
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The cases returned to the High Court for a two-day hearing on costs, during which the court was told ANL’s total costs exceeded £34m.
In a judgment today, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled the group of seven must pay £9,544,355 by August 28 as an initial contribution to the publisher’s costs ahead of further hearings to determine the total sum.
He said: ‘The claimants and their advisers have been on notice, since the hearing, that this would be the date for payment on account.’
Mr Justice Nicklin also ruled that ANL’s costs should be determined on an indemnity basis, which is more favourable to the publisher in terms of the amount it can recover, aside from where orders had already been made.
ANL, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, had asked for more than £9.9m as an interim payment, while lawyers for the claimants, which also includes David Furnish, Sadie Frost, Liz Hurley, and Sir Simon Hughes, said the interim payment should be just over £7.9m.
During a hearing in July, ANL said the group should pay the total costs on the indemnity (this is rare and means Associated does not need to show its costs are proportionate and does not need to adhere to the court’s previous budget), rather than on a standard basis.
However, Nicholas Bacon KC, for the group, said in written submissions that it could be ‘very significant’ if the group of seven had to pay ANL’s costs on this stricter basis and could lead to them being without enough insurance cover.
The judgment comes after Wednesday’s news that the Duke of Sussex and his wife, Meghan Markle, will be returning to the UK for an ‘extended period’.
More than six years ago, the couple relocated to California with their two children, Archie, seven, and Lilibet, five, amid the ‘Megxit’ crisis as they stepped back from royal duties.
But they are set to jet back to Britain later this month to live in a non-royal residence outside London.
The children will also start a new school in September.
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