At a subsequent hearing to determine costs, ANL’s lawyers revealed the company had incurred almost $46million in legal fees defending the case, and sought an interim payment of nearly $13.5million from the defeated group, who have insurance cover of up to $22million but still face a potential shortfall of many millions.
TalkTV presenter Kevin O’Sullivan seized on the ruling, calling Harry “the dim Duke” and warning he now faces “the grim prospect of a personal bill” which could run well into seven figures in pounds and dollars.
He said: “The dim Duke now faces the grim prospect of a personal Bill adding up to more than two and a half million pounds. That’s $3.3million in America and getting on for $5million Aussie dollars. Can he afford it? Can he he-l.”
O’Sullivan claimed Harry was hoping Elton John might “pick up the tab,” only for that idea to be “extinguished like a candle in the wind.”
A media source exclusively told us: “Privately, there is a real worry around Harry’s finances. The case wasn’t just lost – it was dismissed in a way that leaves the claimants on the hook for a huge proportion of the other side’s costs. Insurance softens the blow, but it doesn’t cover everything.
“What you’re looking at is a gap of many millions that has to be filled somehow. That’s why people around Harry are talking about a desperate situation – not because he’s broke in the ordinary sense, but because this level of litigation has created a bill almost no individual wants to face.”