Prince Harry cannot expand his legal claims against The Sun’s publisher to include allegations about his wife Meghan, the High Court has said.
Harry alleges he was unlawfully 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 already lodged civil claims against NGN at 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 earlier this year, Harry’s legal team also said knowledge of unlawful acts went right to the top of the organisation.
NGN has previously denied unlawful 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 denied permission to make other amendments which added to the allegations of phone hacking.
But Harry’s legal team was granted permission in principle to name and make allegations against “certain further journalists and private investigators”.
Claims against Rupert Murdoch, however, will not be part of the case against NGN, which will be heard at a full High Court trial in January 2025 alongside other claimants.
Mr Justice Fancourt ruled the individual allegations against Mr Murdoch should not be allowed to be taken to trial, stating they added “nothing material” to the case and that some amounted to a “new case”, but said some other amendments could be made.
The judge said: “I am disposed to take a restrictive approach to allowing the proposed amendments, on grounds of delay and because permitting all the amendments will either prejudice the trial date or at least create an unlevel playing field on which NGN is running uphill to be ready for the full trial.
“The claimants have sought to introduce a vast quantity of new allegations and material, much of which is likely to be highly contentious, and there is no prospect of the time listed for trial accommodating these allegations.”
Keep up with all the latest news from the UK and around the world by following Sky News
Actor Hugh Grant had been due to pursue similar claims against The Sun in the High Court trial next year but he “reluctantly” accepted an “enormous sum of money” to settle his case against NGN in April.
The 63-year-old film star said at the time: “I don’t want to accept this money or settle. I would love to see all the allegations that 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 even a penny less than the settlement offer, I would have to pay the legal costs of both sides.”
Be the first to get Breaking News
Install the Sky News app for free
This breaking news story is being updated and more details will be published shortly.
Please refresh the page for the fullest version.
You can receive breaking news alerts on a smartphone or tablet via the Sky News app. You can also follow @SkyNews on X or subscribe to our YouTube channel to keep up with the latest news.
