You win some, you lose some; in the course of one week, Prince Harry has done both!
On the winning side, Prince Harry won the latest round in his legal battle with the British publisher, the Mirror Group. On Friday, Dec. 15, the court awarded the royal $180,000 (£140,000) in damages in his phone-hacking case, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Prince, who has arguably spent every moment since his birth in the spotlight, accused the publishers of hacking into his phone, as well as other illegal activities, to learn private information that could then be turned into news stories. Additionally, he claimed he was the victim of more than “140 instances of illegal news gathering,” reports the outlet.
Though the Duke of Sussex was not present in London’s High Court to hear the ruling, his lawyer David Sherbourne read aloud to the press outside the courthouse how thrilled Harry was to be victorious.
??“Today’s ruling is vindicating and affirming. I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned but in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues.” Harry said in the statement, in part.
“The journey to justice can be a slow and painful one and since bringing my claim almost five years ago defamatory stories and intimidating tactics have been deployed against me and at my family’s expense. And so, as I too have learnt through this process, patience is, in fact, a virtue. Especially, in the face of vendetta journalism,” he added.
But file this all under a partial victory for the royal. For one thing, the damages payment he was awarded is just a smidge more than half the £320,000 Harry had been seeking — and these days, Harry is seeking some additional income.
On the other hand, the ruling comes days after another court ruled Harry had to pay the Mail on Sunday more than £48,000 ($61,000) in legal costs after he lost an attempt to get part of the paper’s defense in a libel case thrown out. So, he and Meghan Markle are coming out ahead – but only just.
But hey, it’s enough money that, should they really only wish to work one hour week as reports claim, they could, even just for a little bit, right?