Prince Harry’s next battle with the media must cost less than £9million if it gets to a High Court trial, judges have ruled.
The Duke of Sussex is suing the publishers of the Daily Mail – Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) – over claims of alleged misuse of private information.
He has lined up alongside co-claimants Baroness Doreen Lawrence, Sir Elton John and his husband David Furnish, actresses Sadie Frost and Liz Hurley, and politician Sir Simon Hughes for the legal battle.
ANL denies any wrongdoing and has said it will vigorously contest the allegations in court.
The High Court heard both sides had proposed to spent an eye-watering £38.8 million on the legal battle.
On Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin, sitting with Judge David Cook, said they had “little difficulty concluding that such sums were manifestly excessive and therefore disproportionate”.
Spending by the claimants must be capped at around £4.084 million, the judges ruled, and ANL has an approved budget of £4.445 million.
The trial of the claims is currently due to be heard in 2026, with an anticipated length of 45 days.
Prince Harry settled his major battle with the publishers of The Sun newspaper earlier this week, just as that trial was due to begin.
The media group admitted unlawful activity at the daily tabloid for the first time, and also apologised for the treatment of Princess Diana in the last years of her life.
Harry walked away with an undisclosed settlement, reported to be in the region of £10 million.
ANL has previously said the allegations against its newspapers are “lurid” and “simply preposterous”.
