Prince Harry wins his latest legal battle – but at what cost?

Prince Harry has won a small victory in his High Court battle: a judge ruled this morning that his privacy case against Associated Newspapers, the publishers of the Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday, can proceed to trial.

Harry is part of a group of seven, including Doreen Lawrence and Sir Elton John, who have accused the newspaper group of all manner of reprehensible behaviour, including listening in on private telephone conversations, accessing confidential records and even planting bugging devices within vehicles. Associated denies the accusations, calling them ‘preposterous smears’. It asked the judge hearing the case, Mr Justice Nicklin, to dismiss the case without trial. But Nicklin refused to do so, paving the way for a return to the witness box for Harry.

There is no doubt that the news is, unequivocally, a win for Harry and his co-plaintiffs, all of whom have been vocal about the invasions of privacy that the tabloid press have visited upon them.