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Prince Harry moved to America thinking he had left the politics and drama behind but realized that he could never escape it at all. He got U.S. citizenship, only for it to be questioned even today and being targeted by Donald Trump. And now, after winning a major battle after what feels like ages, the Duke won’t be able to enjoy the victory thanks to America.
Harry’s long-standing and highly publicized battle with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers over a number of scandals is finally at an end, and the victorious prince is set to go away with a hefty financial settlement for his troubles.
Unfortunately for Harry, due to frustrating U.S. tax rules, he isn’t going to walk away with nearly as much money as he was awarded in what’s sure to feel like a massive blow. The long and winding legal battle — in which controversial commentator Piers Morgan was implicated — involved a series of allegations of phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information by journalists.
Harry, along with Labour Lord Tom Watson, settled the case out of court in what Harry’s barrister called a “monumental victory.” According to sources, the settlement is believed to be somewhere in the region of £10 million (roughly $12.5 million). Under U.K. laws, legal damages are not taxed. Ordinarily, this would mean that after paying his legal fees, Harry would pocket a rather nice sum.
Except that Harry is now a U.S. resident, and that complicates things. This means that Harry is unfortunately set to pay tax on the money in the U.S., which requires its residents to pay taxes on money earned outside of the country if that money was not already taxed.
This might come as a crushing blow to the prince, whose lifestyle is quite expensive, and whose legal fees, in the entire process of the lawsuit, is expected to be quite high. In addition to the eye-watering sum of money, News Group Newspapers issued an apology for its actions and role in the scandal. While this is likely to be of some comfort, it’s unlikely to be anywhere near as soothing as a cool £10 million and a full admission of guilt in a court of law.
Although Harry was almost certainly the most high-profile victim of News Group Newspapers (NGN) and its behavior during the scandal, he’s far from the only public figure to have been involved. Actor Hugh Grant wants a full criminal investigation into NGN, as it has admitted (for the first time in the apology to Prince Harry) that it did in fact do things such as phone hacking which it has always denied — even in courts of law.
The Love, Actually actor called for implementing recommendations from the Leveson Inquiry, a sweeping and broad investigation of the U.K. press to which various people associated with News Group Newspapers gave evidence — including Piers Morgan, then in charge of theNGN-owned News of the World. Morgan branded Grant a “hypocrite” for having worked with Murdoch-owned businesses previously while also vilifying the practices of his newspapers and news organizations.
For Prince Harry, this end to his long legal battle is likely to be bittersweet. Far from ending with a full admission of guilt and a day in court, he settled out of court for a sum of money which looks set to be whittled away by various other commitments such as tax and payments to his legal team. Yet money isn’t everything, and the prince can at least walk away vindicated that he was right all along.