Prince Harry is reportedly facing a staggering legal bill following his bruising court defeat, and new claims suggest the Duke of Sussex may not have the money to cover it.
The 41-year-old royal could be ordered to pay as much as $20 million in legal costs after losing a privacy case against the publisher of the Daily Mail last week.
The potential financial blow comes at a difficult time for Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, 44, amid reports that several of their recent entertainment and streaming projects have failed to deliver the success they had hoped for.
However, Harry may have a wealthy friend willing to step in and help.
Music legend Sir Elton John, 79, is reportedly being discussed as a possible financial lifeline. The “Rocket Man” singer has an estimated fortune of $640 million and has remained close to Harry for years.
“Elton John could also well help Harry out. They’re extremely close,” a source told Page Six.
The insider also claimed Harry “definitely doesn’t have the money for it” and said Meghan would “likely be very furious about the fees” because she reportedly did not want him to pursue the case.
Elton has long-standing ties to the royal family. He performed at Harry and Meghan’s 2018 wedding and was a close friend of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana. He famously performed a rewritten version of “Candle in the Wind” at Diana’s funeral in 1997.
Harry joined the legal action alongside several high-profile figures, including Elton, actress Elizabeth Hurley, producer Sadie Frost and Baroness Doreen Lawrence.
Lawrence is the mother of Stephen Lawrence, a Black British teenager who was murdered in a racist attack in London in 1993.
The group alleged that journalists working for the Mail had used unlawful methods to obtain private information.
During the case, Harry claimed the British press had made Meghan’s life an “absolute misery.”
However, Judge Matthew Nicklin rejected the claims and stressed that suspicion was not enough to prove wrongdoing.
“Suspicion, even understandable suspicion, is not proof,” the judge said, adding that the disputed stories could have come from legitimate sources.
Harry’s court defeat came shortly before his latest trip to the United Kingdom, where Meghan and their two children, Archie, 7, and Lilibet, 5, later joined him.
After attending an Invictus Games “One Year to Go” event in Birmingham, the Sussexes reportedly visited King Charles. The meeting marked the first time the monarch had seen his grandchildren in four years.
Despite the family reunion, reports suggested Harry’s return was met with a mixed reaction from the British public.
“Harry genuinely throws himself into everything connected with Invictus because it’s the one cause that still resonates strongly with him on a personal level,” one source said.
“But every time he comes back to Britain, the focus quickly shifts from the veterans to the controversy surrounding him.”
The insider added that while many people still respect Harry’s work with veterans and the military community, others believe his relationship with Britain has been damaged beyond repair.
“He knows opinion remains deeply split, and that’s unlikely to change any time soon,” the source said.
Another insider claimed the backlash was even more severe.
“Harry might be laughing, but he is being absolutely mauled by his critics,” the source said. “The feeling in Britain among the masses of the public is simply, ‘Why are you here? Go home.’ No one cares about him.”