Prince Harry and Sir Elton have been in the news lately. That’s because they won’t be able to spend as much as initially proposed for their legal battle with the publisher of Britain’s Daily Mail. The solicitors’ hourly rates of 750 pounds were well outside of guidelines, the High Court has ruled.
Elton, David Furnish, Elizabeth Hurley, and Harry are among the high-profile individuals claiming that Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), invaded their privacy. A hearing is to begin in early 2026.
When it comes to legal matters, this is hardly Elton’s first rodeo. The UK’s Sun comes to mind. After publishing lurid allegations about rent boys, the tabloid wound up printing a front-page apology to the singer in 1988.
They were at it again years later, stating that Elton and David’s dog left a child on a playdate with ”Freddy Krueger”-type wounds. The paper, on 11 February 2018, even claimed that they ignored the incident. This wasn’t true, and fortunately, the youngster wasn’t seriously hurt. The couple then accepted an apology and libel damages.
Here’s more on the legal front. . . .
• In 1985, Elton sued Dick James Music over royalties. Dick was ordered to pay millions in unpaid royalties. But Elton was unable to recover the copyright to 169 songs.
Only a few months later, Dick died. He’d been in poor health after a heart bypass. His son, Stephen, though, told the Mirror he blamed the stress of going to court.
• One of Elton and Bernie Taupin‘s songs was scrutinised in 2013. Photographer and songwriter Guy Hobbs claimed that Nikita was based on his own composition, Natasha. The suit was dismissed, as the lyrics ”told different stories,” according to the ruling.
• Do you remember the stories about Elton’s spending habits? The performer spent £293,000 in 20 months just for flowers, according to a multi-million dollar suit he filed in 2001. Elton didn’t ”win a penny,” reported ABC, when he took on his former accountants and manager. That’s not quite true, as John Reid settled out of court with Elton, paying his former boyfriend and client 3.4 million pounds. Elton had accused Price WaterhouseCoopers of negligence in handling his business affairs. As for John Reid Enterprises, Elton claimed that Andrew Haydon, their former managing director, should not have allowed the singer to be charged for booking agents and other touring expenses.
Afterwards, Reid told the Telegraph he was sad his long relationship with Elton ended this way. ”It should not have come to trial. It was ill advised,” he declared.
• For another proceeding, Elton was not physically in court, but testified via video in 2023. Elton and his husband defended actor Kevin Spacey on allegations of sexual assault. The accuser said he was attacked in a car on the way to a White Tie & Tiara EJAF benefit. Elton pointed out that Kevin arrived by private jet. And David noted that the year of the alleged incident was incorrect.
• Perhaps the most surprising case involved Elton’s ex-wife. Renate Blauel stayed out of the limelight for many years. But in 2020, she sued Elton for discussing their marriage in his autobiography, Me, and movie Rocketman. She claimed this caused her emotional distress and was a violation of their divorce agreement.
The two settled amicably out of court. They agreed that in the future, they would not talk about each other or their relationship in public, preventing what could have been–in the words of the Daily Mail–a ”scandal in the wind.”
And we can’t forget the battle between two groups named Blue. One of them was signed to Rocket Records in the seventies. They didn’t think another band should be able to use that name, but it happened. These fellows teamed up with Elton for another version of Sorry Seems to Be the Hardest Word in 2002.
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