Prince Harry and six others ordered to pay initial £9.5m to Daily Mail publisher

Key Points:

• Prince Harry and six other high-profile claimants, including Sir Elton John and Liz Hurley, have been ordered to pay an initial £9.54 million in legal costs to the Daily Mail's publisher after losing their High Court privacy case, with potential costs rising up to £34.5 million.
• The judge made an exceptional order due to the claimants' unsupportable allegations against the newspaper group's executives, including accusations of lying to the Leveson inquiry, and ruled that costs would be assessed on an indemnity basis, favoring the publisher.
• The claimants have until 2 October to file an appeal, while the newspaper group could seek to recover costs beyond the £16.2 million covered by insurance, potentially leaving the Duke of Sussex and others with bills around £18 million.
• Justice Nicklin described the claimed costs as "excessive" but declined to cap them, criticizing the claimants for failing to withdraw serious allegations without proper evidential basis, which he deemed highly unreasonable.
• The ruling coincides with the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's announced return to the UK with their children starting school, while Prince Harry is reviewing the judgment and considering possible appeals.