Prince Harry is reportedly facing fresh financial pressure after a royal commentator claimed an insider revealed his legal costs could far exceed the insurance covering his failed UK court battle. The claims also suggest the Duke’s ongoing private security expenses are adding to concerns about his finances.
Harry’s co-claimant, Sir Elton John, reportedly shouldered the bulk of the legal costs in their lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited.
Royal commentator Kinsey Schofield claims Prince Harry could be facing a hefty legal bill following his defeat in the UK courts, citing what she described as insider information from a lawyer close to the Duke’s inner circle.
During an appearance on her “Reading Royals” YouTube show, Schofield said she was told Harry and his team were “sweating badly” because insurance allegedly covered just £11 million, while the opposing side’s legal costs have reportedly climbed above £25 million.
She also claimed Harry’s lawyers took the case on a no-win, no-fee basis, meaning they spent four years working without payment before the appeal was ultimately lost.
Schofield went on to speculate that, combined with the Duke’s multimillion-dollar annual private security costs, Harry’s finances may be under increasing strain, adding that she believes “more is going out than is coming in.”
Sir Elton John ‘On The Hook’ For Prince Harry’s Legal Expenses
In 2022, Harry, Sir Elton John, and other claimants launched a lawsuit against ANL, the publisher of the Daily Mail, Mail on Sunday, and MailOnline.
While claimants in a lawsuit typically contribute their own share of the legal costs, royal reporter Paula Froelich has claimed that is not the case here.
During a recent live episode on her YouTube channel, Froelich alleged that John is “on the hook” for the legal expenses Harry incurred during the case.
“The only winner out of this is going to be Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne,” she said. “And who is on the hook for that? It can’t be Harry—Harry doesn’t have any money. Elton John has the money,” the commentator further claimed.
Prince Harry’s Court Fight Cost ANL Over $67 Million
Harry and John ultimately saw their case against ANL dismissed in a July 7 ruling, leaving open the possibility that their legal costs could climb even higher if they are ordered to cover the publisher’s expenses.
According to Daily Mail editor-in-chief Paul Dacre, the case cost ANL more than £50 million in legal fees, nearly $67 million.
“The truth is that this trumped-up action, which has cost well over 50 million pounds and wasted a huge amount of valuable court time, should never have been brought to trial. That it did raises profoundly disturbing questions about the conduct of elements of the legal profession,” Dacre said in a video posted on the outlet’s YouTube page.
ANL Plans To Pursue Harry Over Legal Expenses
Meanwhile, there appears to be little doubt that ANL intends to seek recovery of its legal costs from Prince Harry and his fellow claimants.
In a statement issued after the ruling, the publisher thanked Justice Nicklin for his decision and confirmed that it would pursue its legal costs.
“We will look to resolve outstanding issues, including the recovery of the costs we have incurred while defending ourselves against this egregious litigation,” the publisher said.
However, the final outcome will largely depend on a hearing scheduled for July 29 and 30, during which the court will consider any disputed issues relating to the consequential orders arising from the judgment.
Why Prince Harry Lost His Case Against ANL
In the more than 300-page ruling, Justice Nicklin detailed why Prince Harry’s allegations were dismissed.
One of the court’s most significant findings concerned Harry’s claim that the information published about him was private and had been obtained unlawfully.
The court stressed that the key issue was not whether the information was private, but whether it had been obtained illegally, and ruled that Harry had failed to prove that it was.
Part of the reason the allegation failed was that Harry’s legal team advanced serious claims, including voicemail interception, without properly pleading them before trial.
According to the judge, such claims “should have been clearly pleaded and supported by some proper evidential basis” before being raised during trial.
Harry also alleged that Associated Newspapers obtained information about him through private investigators. However, that claim was rejected after the judge found no evidence linking payments made to private investigators to the articles Harry relied upon.
“Temporal proximity alone is insufficient to establish the necessary connection,” the ruling stated.