Prince Harry phone-hacking trial set for 2026

Prince Harry and other high-profile British figures' privacy lawsuits against the UK's Daily Mail newspaper's publisher will go to trial in early 2026. The decision was made by London's High Court on Tuesday, with the parties' legal costs set to exceed 38 million pounds ($A74 million). Harry, the younger son of King Charles, is one of seven claimants suing Associated Newspapers over allegations of voicemail interception - commonly known as phone-hacking - and other serious privacy breaches dating back 30 years. Associated, which also publishes the Mail on Sunday, has always denied involvement in unlawful practices. Its lawyers said in filings for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday that the claimants' allegations were "firmly denied". The publisher's attempt to throw out the lawsuits was rejected last year, paving the way for a trial which the claimants and Associated say should begin in early 2026. Lawyers representing the claimants, who also include singer Elton John and actresses Elizabeth Hurley and Sadie Frost, expect to spend around 18.4 million pounds ($A35.7 million) up to and including the trial, with Associated incurring nearly 20 million pounds ($A39 million), according to court filings made public on Tuesday. Harry and the other claimants' lawsuits, which were filed in 2022, marked the first time Associated had been dragged into the phone-hacking scandal, which emerged more than a decade ago and prompted a public inquiry into the ethics of the press and several criminal trials. It also sparked long-running litigation against Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper arm, News Group Newspapers, and the publisher of the Daily Mirror, Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN). Harry's case against Associated is one of several he has brought against British media organisations as part of his "mission" to purge executives and editors whom he accuses of spreading lies and intruding into people's lives. The prince accepted substantial damages from MGN to settle the remainder of his phone-hacking lawsuit, having been awarded 140,600 pounds ($A275,500) after the High Court ruled he had been targeted by journalists. Harry's case against News Group Newspapers is due to go to trial in January.