Prince Harry has been savaged in a brutal six-word takedown after a crushing £50 million court defeat today. The Duke of Sussex, 41, who arrived in the UK yesterday, lost his unlawful information-gathering lawsuit against the Daily Mail's publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd. All 14 of his claims for different articles were dismissed.
Paul Dacre's Response
Paul Dacre, editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers, issued a statement targeting Harry. He said: 'Prince Harry wrote a sad book which boasted about his killing of 25 Taliban, his drug-taking and, in cringe-making detail, how he lost his virginity. There isn't a laundry in the cosmos big enough to wash all the dirty linen he has aired about his own family. For him, to complain about HIS privacy being invaded takes, not just the biscuit, but the whole tin.'
Dacre referred to Harry as 'a confused and angry young man' and highlighted what he called a 'bitter irony' about the case. He added: 'Poor Harry. I feel sorry for the way a confused and angry young man has been drawn into this case. The bitter irony is that his mother, Diana, liked the Mail. We were her paper. We took her side in her acrimonious break up with Charles. She and I would speak and meet. The Mail's superb royal reporter was her friend and confidante.'
Cost and Implications
Dacre criticised the lawsuit, stating: 'The truth is that this trumped-up action - which has cost well over £50 million 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.' He added: 'Today's verdict is not just a victory for Associated's magnificent journalists - several of whom have had a terrible toll imposed on their health and lives - but a free press generally. Make no mistake. This was a conspiracy, supported by Hacked Off, to destroy a paper...'
Harry's UK Visit
Shortly after the defeat, Harry arrived at Chatham House in London for the first of a series of week-long events celebrating the Invictus Games. He had been expected to be joined by his wife Meghan Markle and their children, Prince Archie and Princess Lilibet, but after his request for police protection was denied, they did not accompany him. Meghan and their children have not been to the UK since 2022.
