Prince Harry’s Lawsuit Advances: Trial Looms for UK Tabloid

A UK judge has decided that Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloid, The Sun, for alleged unlawful information gathering, will be allowed to go to trial next year. This lawsuit is one of several the 39-year-old prince has initiated against various UK newspaper publishers.

In this specific case, Prince Harry claims that journalists and private investigators associated with The Sun repeatedly targeted him. He is among many other claimants involved in the lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publishing arm behind The Sun. NGN has denied all allegations of unlawful activity and requested the High Court in London to postpone the trial, originally scheduled for next January. They proposed a preliminary trial to determine if the claims were made too late, beyond the legal time limit.

However, Judge Timothy Fancourt rejected this proposal on Friday, stating that a preliminary trial could lead to increased costs and potentially delay the main trial by up to two years, which he found unsatisfactory.

This ruling followed actor Hugh Grant’s recent settlement of his claim against NGN over similar allegations, which he decided to settle to avoid a potentially massive legal expense. Grant hinted on social media that he was offered a significant sum to avoid court, though NGN settled without admitting any liability, citing the mutual financial benefit of avoiding an expensive trial.

This year, Prince Harry also resolved a prolonged lawsuit with Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), accusing its journalists of engaging in deceptive and illegal practices, including phone hacking. Additionally, he is pursuing legal action against Associated Newspapers, the publisher behind Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday.