Judge rules that phone-hacking claims involving the Princess of Wales will not be included in the Duke of Sussex’s ongoing legal case.
Catherine has been pulled into the ongoing legal battle involving Harry’s lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday. However, a judge has now ruled that allegations her phone was targeted will not form part of the proceedings.
The case, brought by Harry and six other public figures—including Sir Elton John, Baroness Doreen Lawrence, and actress Liz Hurley—accuses ANL of unlawful information gathering. The publisher has strongly denied the claims, calling them “lurid” and “simply preposterous.”
Despite the court’s decision to exclude Catherine’s alleged phone-related claims, the lawsuit remains one of the most significant media cases in recent memory, with the potential to expose questionable practices in parts of the British tabloid industry.
At a recent High Court session in London, lawyers for both sides met to prepare for a full trial scheduled for January 2026. David Sherborne, representing the claimants, told the court that a private investigator’s record allegedly showed a journalist had commissioned a “mobile phone conversion” linked to the Princess of Wales, containing contact details for her “family and friends.”
In his written ruling, Mr Justice Nicklin rejected the attempt to add this new allegation to the case, stating it would not form part of the upcoming trial.
