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

Prince Harry and six other high-profile figures have been ordered to pay an initial legal costs payment of £9.54 million to the Daily Mail's publisher after losing their High Court privacy case. The seven claimants, including Prince Harry, Sir Elton John, Liz Hurley, Sir Simon Hughes, Sadie Frost, and Baroness Doreen Lawrence, must pay the initial amount by August 28.

They may be required to pay up to £25 million more in additional costs. The group sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over allegations of unlawful information-gathering, which the publisher denied. Judge Mr Justice Nicklin dismissed the claims, stating the public figures failed to prove the allegations. He described the potential £34 million payment to ANL as "excessive", but decided not to impose a ceiling on the costs, expressing concern about fairness.

The claimants had insurance to cover up to £16.2 million of ANL's costs in the event of losing the case. ANL had requested over £9.9 million as an interim payment for future hearings.