Prince Harry drops libel case against Mail on Sunday

Prince Harry brought claim following article on his separate legal battle with British govt over security arrangements while in UK

By AFP
January 20, 2024
Britains Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, waves as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice, Britains High Court, in central London on June 7, 2023. — AFP
Britain's Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, waves as he leaves the Royal Courts of Justice, Britain's High Court, in central London on June 7, 2023. — AFP

LONDON: Prince Harry has dropped his libel case against UK newspaper the Mail on Sunday, the publication said on Friday, although the estranged royal is still waging a series of legal battles against media groups.

Harry brought the claim following an article on his separate legal battle with the British government over security arrangements while in the UK.

But the prince, who now lives in the United States with American wife Meghan, dropped that case as he was due to hand over a list of documents that could have appeared in the trial, according to a report on the MailOnline website. “Today was the deadline for both sides to disclose a list of any relevant documents,” said the report.

“Instead, at 10.06am (1006 GMT), Harry´s lawyers informed the newspaper it had filed a notice with the court stating: ´The Duke of Sussex discontinues all of this claim´,” it added.

The paper said that Harry, 39, would have to pay the newspaper´s £250,000 costs along with his own legal fees, estimating the total at “more than £750,000”.

Harry sued over an article that said his PR team had tried to “spin” the Home Office dispute by claiming he had offered to personally pay for the police protection.