Prince Harry is taking legal action against Mirror Newspapers for a second time, as revealed in court yesterday.
The Duke of Sussex is demanding a trial unless the group agrees to compensate him.
In the meantime, two former Coronation Street actors who stood alongside Harry during the first trial are now facing a hefty legal bill of £242,000.
Last year, Prince Harry made history by becoming the first royal in over a century to testify in the witness box at the High Court.
As one of four claimants, he accused Mirror Group Newspapers of hacking their phones to obtain stories.
Judge Timothy Fancourt determined that approximately half of the stories about Prince Harry examined in court were the result of illegal actions.
However, the trial only focused on 33 out of the 147 articles that Harry claims were unlawfully obtained.
While Prince Harry is willing to try and resolve the remaining part of his claim through negotiation, his legal team insists on proceeding with a trial as soon as possible.
In a written submission, Harry’s lawyer, David Sherbourne, emphasized the urgency for trial directions to be established promptly.
On the other hand, MGM’s lawyers stated in their submission that settlement offers had been made to Prince Harry, but the exact amount was not disclosed.
The majority of Monday’s hearing revolved around discussions concerning the legal costs of last year’s seven-week trial, which involved evidence from Prince Harry and three other individuals selected as test cases out of around 100 claimants.
While the specific costs incurred by Prince Harry will be addressed at the conclusion of his lawsuit, lawyers representing both Harry and the other claimants have requested nearly £2 million to cover the fees associated with the overall legal action against the publisher.
During the hearing, it was revealed that the group of individuals who sued the publisher is currently seeking payment of £1,976,660 from MGM to cover the legal expenses of the case.
David Sherbourne, representing the group, expressed concern about Prince Harry’s mounting legal fees, stating that £146,600 seems relatively insignificant when considering the potential costs of bills and lawyer fees.
It appears that the 33 articles that went to trial were the strongest claims, with only 15 proving successful.
Prince Harry’s income sources are dwindling, but he remains determined to be seen as a dragon slayer of the British press.
Recently, The Sun published an article claiming that Harry’s legal battle against the media is being funded by Mosley, the son of a well-known public figure.
Prince Harry’s testimony during the trial and the success rate of his 33 test claims provided moments of high comedy.
However, his victory rate was less than 50%.
There are still 115 articles awaiting adjudication, and Mirror Newspapers disclosed in court that they made a confidential settlement offer prior to the trial.
While negotiations continue, Sherbourne is pushing for the trial to proceed for the remaining 115 claims.
He estimates that a 10-day trial would be necessary to address those claims.
The Mirror is aware that it will not be able to subject Prince Harry to further humiliation in the witness box anytime soon.
They also anticipate that among the 115 claims, there will likely be a significant number that lack merit, similar to the 33 already tested.
The Mirror’s strategy seems to be to push Prince Harry to the 11th hour, forcing him to spend thousands more on legal costs, ultimately hoping for a settlement.