A close friend of Prince Harry is now caught in a legal fight with a billionaire over a cancelled deep-sea expedition to the Titanic wreck.
Henry Cookson, who once led Prince Harry on a charity trip to the North Pole in 2011, is being taken to court by Hong Kong billionaire Karen Lo. She is demanding a refund of nearly £1 million after she paid for a luxury underwater trip that never happened.
Back in 2017, Lo paid around £680,000 to Cookson’s travel company, *Henry Cookson Adventures Ltd, for a planned journey aboard the OceanGate Titan submersible. The dive to the Titanic wreck was scheduled for 2018 but was cancelled after the Titan was hit by lightning, which badly damaged its electronic systems.
To make up for it, Cookson’s team offered Lo a full credit and a spot on another trip in 2019. But that trip also never happened—this time due to the outbreak of COVID-19.
Then, in 2023, the Titan sub tragically imploded during a dive, killing all five people on board. Since the submersible no longer exists, Lo has now gone to court, saying she wants her money back. She’s claiming under the UK’s Package Travel Regulations that the trip should have taken place within a “reasonable time.”
In addition to the original £680,000 she paid, she’s asking for 8% interest per year going back to 2018.
But Cookson is fighting back. His lawyers argue that Lo knew from the beginning that the trip was non-refundable. They also say she was given the chance to use her credit for dives in 2021 and 2022—but she turned down both offers.
Before this legal clash, Cookson and Lo were said to be on good terms. Now, their friendship has turned into a courtroom dispute that could cost millions.
