Prince Harry drops libel cases against Mail on Sunday publisher

The Duke of Sussex has withdrawn his High Court libel claim against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday.

He sued Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) over a February 2022 article about his legal challenge against the Home Office following a decision to change his publicly funded security arrangements when visiting the UK.

The duke’s lawyers claimed the story “purported to reveal, in sensational terms” that information from court documents “contradicted public statements he had previously made about his willingness to pay for police protection for himself and his family whilst in the UK”.

He had instructed City law firm Schillings as his legal representative, while the publisher had London headquartered firm RPC.

ANL contested the claim, arguing the article expressed an “honest opinion” and did not cause “serious harm” to his reputation.

In a ruling last month, the duke lost a bid to have ANL’s “honest opinion” thrown out by a judge and was ordered to pay £48,447 towards the publisher’s lawyers’ bills.

A spokeswoman for the publisher confirmed to the PA news agency on Friday that Harry had withdrawn his case.

This comes after the duke was awarded £140,600 in December in his other legal challenge over phone hacking. The High Court found “extensive” phone hacking by Mirror Group Newspapers from 2006 to 2011, “even to some extent” during the Leveson Inquiry into media standards.

Prince Harry sued Mirror Group Newspapers for damages, claiming journalists at its titles – the Daily and Sunday Mirror and Sunday People – were linked to methods including phone hacking, so-called “blagging” or gaining information by deception, and use of private investigators for unlawful activities.

Press Association – Tom Pilgrim and Jess Glass