In September 2022, actor and comedian Steve Coogan released The Lost King. In 2023, Richard Taylor, a former deputy registrar at the University of Leicester, filed a libel suit against Coogan. Now, almost two years since the suit began, the legal proceedings have reached their conclusion. Taylor sued not only Coogan but also his partner companies, Baby Cow Productions and Pathé Productions. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Taylor claimed that his depiction in the film—following the 2012 hunt for King Richard III’s remains—was both misogynistic and defamatory.
In June 2024, a preliminary court hearing found that the film portrayed him as someone who “knowingly misrepresented facts… to the media and the public” and behaved in a “smug, unduly dismissive and patronising” manner. The court effectively sided with Taylor.
The settlement was announced on October 27, 2025. The defendants were ordered to pay Taylor “substantial damages,” though the exact amount remains undisclosed, and to cover his legal costs. They also agreed to amend the film’s opening sequence to clarify that the character “Richard Taylor” is entirely fictionalised and to add that the real Richard Taylor “acted with integrity during the events portrayed.” Taylor described the outcome as “vindication” after “a long and gruelling battle.”
After the trial, Coogan released a statement through his public relations team and production company, emphasising that the film remains “Philippa Langley’s story” (referring to the amateur historian who led the search for Richard III’s remains). He said, “That is the story I wanted to tell, and I am happy I did.” Coogan appeared to remain somewhat bitter about the ruling, suggesting the outcome might have differed had Langley been able to testify. He stated that they “were unable to put evidence before the court so that the judge could independently come to a decision on the matter, which I would have preferred,” adding, “It is her name that will be remembered in relation to the discovery of the lost king, long after Richard Taylor has faded into obscurity.”
The long legal battle brought to light the tension between dramatic retelling and factual accuracy in films based on historical events. While Taylor argued that his depiction in the film damaged his professional reputation; the defendants claimed it as a dramatisation of real-life events.
Leave a Comment