Prince Harry cannot expand his legal actions against the publisher of The Sun to include allegations about his wife Meghan, the High Court has said.
torment claims he was illegally targeted by journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN) titles The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World, which closed in 2011.
The Duke of Sussex had previously brought civil claims against NGN in the High Court.
But in March, the British royal sought to amend his case to add new allegations, including that The Sun ordered private investigators to target his then-girlfriend – and now wife Meghan – in 2016.
During the three-day hearing at the beginning of this year, Harry the legal team also said that knowledge of illegal acts went straight to the top of the organization.
NGN has previously denied that illegal activity took place at The Sun.
Today, the High Court refused the Duke permission to add new allegations relating to the years 1994, 1995 and 2016 to his case.
He was also allowed to make other changes that escalated the wiretapping allegations.
Photo: AP
But Harry’s legal team has been given permission in principle to name and bring charges against “certain other journalists and private investigators”.
The claims against Rupert Murdoch, however, will not form part of the case against NGN, which will be heard in a full High Court trial in January 2025, alongside other claimants.
Judge Fancourt ruled that the individual allegations against Murdoch should not be brought to trial, saying they added “nothing material” to the case and that some amounted to a “new case”, but said some other changes could be made.
The judge said: “I am willing to take a restrictive approach to allowing the proposed changes, for reasons of delay and because allowing all the changes will jeopardize the trial date or at least create an unequal level playing field in which NGN is running hard to be ready for full testing.
“The claimants have sought to present a large number of new allegations and materials, many of which are likely to be highly controversial, and there is no prospect that the time listed for trial will accommodate these allegations.”
‘Trophy targets’
Following the ruling, an NGN spokesperson said the court “fully vindicated” its position and “did not give permission to introduce large and significant portions of the changes”.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. Photo: PA
“Judge Fancourt said in his judgment, at paragraph 79, ‘there is a desire on the part of those directing the litigation on the claimants’ side to shoot at trophy targets, be they political issues or high-profile individuals’,” they said.
“He stated that this cannot become ‘an end in itself’ and acknowledged the applicants’ intention to make changes for ‘collateral reasons’ that do not advance the process.”
The spokesperson continued: “NGN stated that such ‘collateral reasons’ are primarily intended to publicize the allegations against NGN executives.”
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Actor Hugh Grant was due to bring similar claims against The Sun at next year’s High Court trial, but he “reluctantly” accepted a “huge sum of money” to settle his case against NGN in April.
The 63-year-old movie star said at the time: “I don’t want to take this money or make a deal. I would love to see all the allegations they deny tested in court.
“But the rules around civil litigation mean that if I proceed to trial and the court awards me damages that are one cent less than the proposed settlement, I will have to pay both parties’ legal costs.”
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