A Timeline Of Prince Harry's Many Lawsuits Since Ditching Royal Life

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Prince Harry's life changed drastically after stepping down from his position as a senior member of the British royal family. Harry went from having access to multiple homes in countries across the world, vehicles of all kinds at his disposal, handlers to cater to his every whim, and armed security everywhere he went to owning one house in a country to which he's not native, driving on the other side of the road, a significantly smaller staff, and zero armed guards flanking him and his family. Sure, the prince still lives a more luxurious life than most people in the world, but he seems to have more headaches ... or maybe just different headaches, but headaches nonetheless.

One thing about Harry is that he seems to be constantly embroiled in lawsuits. Since leaving Buckingham Palace, the Duke of Sussex has been embroiled in numerous legal battles, most of which are of his own making — and it's hard to envy someone who spends more time talking to his attorneys than his father and brother. Here's a timeline of Prince Harry's many lawsuits since ditching royal life.

In 2019, Prince Harry took legal action against Mirror Group Newspapers — which owns U.K.-based outlets like the Daily Mirror and Sunday Mirror — claiming journalists from the company had obtained personal information through illegal means of phone-hacking, and subsequently published said private details. Harry wasn't the only person who felt violated by Mirror Group; British celebrities Nikki Sanderson and Fiona Wightman filed claims against the company, too (though their claims were ultimately dismissed as they were filed late). 

The prince's lawsuit went to trial in 2023, and Harry made history as the first senior royal to take the stand in a courtroom since the 19th century. "I am at a complete loss as to how these details were obtained ... details of my travel plans, including dates I would be flying, were not released by the Palace for security reasons, yet the specific date I would return to Britain was published days in advance," Harry testified during the trial (via People).

Harry took the stand for two days of the trial, and others, including the aforementioned British celebs, also acted as witnesses. Ultimately, the courts sided with Harry, and he was awarded over $187,000 in damages. And after the initial award was granted, Harry's lawyer announced that the royal would be receiving even more money from Mirror Group Newspapers, including covering his legal fees.

Some lawsuits take years, and some only take months. In July of 2020, Prince Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, filed an invasion-of-privacy lawsuit after photos of their son, Archie, playing in their backyard (at the time, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex were living in a Beverly Hills home owned by Tyler Perry) were taken with a drone and published in a German magazine. Harry and Meghan did not know who had taken the photos, so when their lawsuit was first filed, it did not name any defendants. The defendant was soon discovered to be Los Angeles-based paparazzi agency X17, and the corporation quickly admitted to taking the photos and shopping them to media outlets around the world. The couple is quite private when it comes to their children, having only shared a few pictures of Archie and their daughter, Lilibet, most of which do not show their faces.

By October of 2020, the lawsuit had been resolved. X17 agreed to destroy the photos (and all copies) of Archie, pay for some of Harry and Meghan's legal fees, and issue an apology to the family. "We apologize to the Duke and Duchess of Sussex and their son for the distress we have caused," the agency said in their statement (via The New York Times). "We were wrong to offer these photographs and commit to not doing so again."

Prince Harry has been the one to take action most of the time, but on one occasion, he found himself at the center of a legal dispute between two other entities. In 2023, the Heritage Foundation, an organization that promotes conservative policies, sent an information request to the Department of Homeland Security, seeking Prince Harry's immigration records. In Harry's memoir "Spare," he detailed using marijuana, cocaine, and psychedelic mushrooms in the past, and this information led the Heritage Foundation to question whether Harry was truthful on his visa application and received special treatment concerning his immigration to the United States. "We believe the American people have a right to know whether Prince Harry was truthful on his application," a member of the Heritage Foundation said (via AP News).

The Heritage Foundation ultimately sued the Department of Homeland Security, claiming the agency had violated the Freedom of Information Act by largely ignoring the foundation's request to see the documents. Although Harry was not directly involved in the lawsuit, the ruling could have potentially impacted his immigration status. And, if Harry had lied on his visa application, it would be grounds for deportation. Ultimately, the case was dismissed, but some documents regarding Harry's visa application, albeit heavily redacted, were released. However, even two years after the fact, the Heritage Foundation pledged to continue its quest.

A few of Prince Harry's lawsuits have been similar in nature. In 2019, Harry joined a lawsuit against News Group Newspapers, which is the British branch of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. At the time of the filing, there were 40 total claimants (one of whom was Hugh Grant), and by the time it was all said and done, just two wanted to take their cases before a judge, and one of those people was Harry. Just as it was in his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers, Harry claimed in this filing that News Group Newspapers had used unlawful methods to gain information about the prince, which was then published.

Unlike his lawsuit with Mirror Group, Prince Harry's legal action against Murdoch's company took a bit longer to resolve. Ultimately, in 2025, Harry settled with News Group, and for anyone worried about Meghan Markle and Harry's rumored money troubles, know that the Duke of Sussex settled for damages estimated to be more than $12 million. "Today the lies are laid bare. Today the cover-ups are exposed, and today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived," Harry's attorney said after the royal's legal victory, per Hello!. Interestingly, despite Prince William's feud with Prince Harry, the two brothers still have unique commonalities. In 2020, after taking legal action against News Group himself, William received a large settlement from the Murdoch-owned company.

Continuing Prince Harry's longstanding hateful relationship with the media, in 2022, the former senior royal joined a case against Associated Newspapers, which publishes The Daily Mail and other outlets. This dispute was essentially the same as Harry's with Mirror Group and News Group, accusing Associated Newspapers of unlawfully garnering private information. With Harry in the lawsuit were Elton John, Elizabeth Hurley, and Sadie Frost (Jude Law's ex-wife and mother of his three eldest children). Like most lawsuits, this one took a while to move through the judicial system, and in early 2026, it finally was brought before a court in London.

Prince Harry testified at the trial, and he was reportedly emotional while talking about both Meghan Markle and his late mother, Princess Diana, who also had a rocky relationship with the press. "I think it's fundamentally wrong [for Associated Newspapers Limited] to put us through this again when all we [claimants] required is an apology and some accountability. It's a horrible experience and the worst bit of it is, by standing up here, they continue to come after me and make my wife's life an absolute misery," Harry said on the stand (via ABC News). During his time on the stand, the royal progeny was asked why he hadn't taken legal action against the press earlier, as his complaints were from pieces published from 1997 to 2015. "I wasn't able to complain because of [the] institution I was in. It would have been very difficult. Never complain and never explain," Harry said, referring to his former position as a senior member of the royal family. As of March 20206, the trial is ongoing.

Prince Harry's abrupt exit from the U.K. came with many consequences. After he and Meghan Markle stepped down as senior members of the royal family and relocated to the United States, Prince Harry's security detail was removed. Harry felt that not having security left him and his family vulnerable, and he stated that he would not bring his wife and children with him to the U.K. unless the security was reinstated. Harry entered a legal battle with the U.K. in an effort to get the security reinstated, and it's been a long saga that's still not over. In May of 2025, Harry lost an appeal in his fight to regain security, however, in January of 2026, insiders shared that Harry was making headway in his efforts after the Home Office in the U.K. ordered a review of the prince's request.

It seems that this legal battle has been more detrimental to Harry's relationship, or lack thereof, with his family than any other. "[King Charles] won't speak to me because of this security stuff," Harry told the BBC in 2025. "I never asked him to intervene – I asked him to step out of the way and let the experts do their jobs," Harry said of his father, noting he doesn't know how much longer the king has to live given his cancer diagnosis. "I would love reconciliation with my family. There's no point continuing to fight any more, life is precious."