Prince Harry is among the famous names who must now pay an initial £9 million legal bill following the loss of a court case against the publishers of the Daily Mail.
Harry and his co-litigants have been give a week to pay the first part of the costs incurred after Mr Justice Nicklin handed down a ruling.
The total costs incurred by Associated Newspapers is £34.5 million.
Prince Harry was among a group of people who had sued the publishers for breach of privacy. Among the others are Sir Elton John and his husband, David Furnish, as well as Baroness Lawrence and Elizabeth Hurley.
On Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin said that the initial £9.5 million was due within a week. And he issued a rare indemnity order, lifting the cap on how much the claimants will have to pay towards the costs incurred by the publisher in the court case.
Such indemnity orders are only allowed in cases where there has been ”unreasonable” behaviour or actions which take it ”out of the norm”
The case against Associated Newspapers was dismissed in July with Mr Justice Nicklin describing it as ‘speculative’ and saying that the claimants had relied on ”inference”.
The full costs due will be determined over the coming months and it is understood the claimants have insurance for their case which could pay out up to sixten million pounds.
Associated Newspapers will also have to justify their cost figures at hearings held to determine the final sum.
