Prince Harry hasn’t been shy about standing up for himself since stepping down as a senior working royal in 2020 — and he has attempted to do so through several lawsuits.
In perhaps his most famous legal battle, the Duke of Sussex fought against the loss of state-funded police protection in the United Kingdom after stepping down from the royal family. Harry’s legal team argued that he and wife Meghan Markle — as well as their children, son Prince Archie and daughter Princess Lilibet — remain high-profile figures even though they are no longer working royals.
In 2022, Harry asked for a judicial review after England’s Home Office said private individuals cannot use state security even if they offer to pay for it themselves. Nearly one year later, in May 2023, Harry’s request to privately pay police officers to protect his family while in the U.K. was denied.
By February 2024, the High Court issued a dismissal of Harry’s security claim, which he appealed in June of that year. Harry officially lost his appeal in May 2025.
That’s not the only legal blow the duke has suffered over the years. Keep scrolling for a complete guide to Harry’s various legal battles:
Mirror Group Newspapers
Harry is part of a group suing Mirror Group Newspapers, which owns the Daily Mirror, for allegedly hacking into celebrities’ voicemails to obtain personal information. MGN has denied Harry’s claims that reporters accessed his voicemails and argued that they are not liable for any allegations predating October 2000, when the U.K.’s 1998 Human Rights Act went into effect. Harry testified in the case in June 2023, becoming the first royal to take the stand in 130 years.
Status: In December 2023, a judge ruled in Harry’s favor, finding “sufficient proof” that the publisher “engaged in unlawful information gathering, including phone hacking,” according to court documents obtained by Us.
Following their shocking step away from their senior royal duties in March 2020, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have distanced themselves from their relatives across the pond. Nearly one year after their initial step away, Buckingham Palace confirmed in February 2021 that Harry and the Suits alum were not going to return as working royals. […]
News Group Newspapers
Harry is also suing News Group Newspapers, which owns The Sun, for alleged unlawful information gathering for stories published in the company’s tabloids. In April 2023, Harry also claimed that his brother, Prince William, settled with NGN for a “very large sum” in 2020. In a court filing, he alleged that the royal family had a “secret agreement” with NGN which prevented members of the royal family from filing lawsuits against the company.
Prince Harry outside the High Court in London, June 2023. NEIL HALL/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
NGN has previously admitted that phone hacking took place at News of the World, which closed in 2011. The company also claimed no wrongdoing ever took place at The Sun and has denied Harry’s claims about a secret deal with the royal family.
Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled in July 2023 that the case can move forward on allegations of unlawful information gathering, but Harry’s phone hacking claims were thrown out for falling outside the six-year time limit for bringing a case. Fancourt also said Harry failed to produce any evidence that the “secret agreement” between NGN and the royal family ever existed.
Status: Harry settled the suit in January 2025.
Prince Harry‘s relationship with his relatives is complex and complicated. Harry is the youngest son of King Charles III and the late Princess Diana. As children, he and his older brother, Prince William, seemed inseparable, but as they got older, cracks began to form in their relationship. “There’s always been a part of Harry that […]
Associated Newspapers Limited (Defamation)
Harry filed a lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited, which owns the Daily Mail, over a February 2022 article that appeared in the Mail on Sunday. Harry claimed that the story libeled him by suggesting that he lied in his initial public statements about his police protection lawsuit. A lawyer for the newspaper, meanwhile, argued that Harry’s legal team was “straitjacketing the newspaper’s right to comment.”
Status: A judge ruled in July 2022 that the article was defamatory and the case can move forward with a trial. However, Harry withdrew his libel case in January 2024.
Associated Newspapers Limited (Phone Hacking)
Harry’s other lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited includes claims similar to those in his cases against MGN and NGN. He is part of a group of celebrities — including Elton John and Elizabeth Hurley — suing Associated for allegedly hacking their phones to obtain personal information. Associated denied the allegations and argued the phone hacking claims are too old for legal action.
Prince Harry leaving the High Court in London, March 2023. ANDY RAIN/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
In October 2025, it was reported that Harry’s brother, Prince William, and sister-in-law, Princess Kate Middleton, were named in a High Court hearing. Multiple U.K. outlets, including The Times, shared that Harry’s lawyers alleged that Kate and William were also targets of the alleged phone hacking.
Status: The judge stated his “broad objective” to start trial in January 2026, according to a preliminary hearing in November 2024.
Government-Funded Police Protection
While Harry lost his bid to pay for police protection himself, he still has a pending case against the government that could restore state-funded security for him and his family during their U.K. visits. In July 2022, Judge Jonathan Swift ruled that Harry can move forward with his petition for a judicial review of RAVEC’s original 2020 decision to remove publicly funded security for him and his family. RAVEC, the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures, is responsible for providing security for individuals who are deemed in need of public security.
Harry’s legal team has argued that RAVEC’s decision was unreasonable because Harry was not allowed to make “informed representations beforehand.” Harry appealed the decision in June 2024 and fought for government-protected security in court the following year.
Status: Harry lost his appeal for government-funded protection in May 2025.
