Prince Harry Launches Libel Claim Against Daily Mail Publisher

On 23/02/2022, Prince Harry, the Duke of Sussex, filed a libel claim in the High Court in London against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), the publisher of the Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday. The case concluded in January 2024 when the Duke formally withdrew the claim before it proceeded to a full trial. The lawsuit arose from a February 2022 article published in The Mail on Sunday, which alleged that Prince Harry had attempted to keep his legal challenge against the UK Home Office over police protection confidential by seeking a restriction on public access. The article also claimed that he only offered to personally fund police protection after initiating legal action against the government. Prince Harry’s legal team argued that these statements were defamatory and misrepresented the circumstances of his security dispute. In June 2022, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled that parts of the article were capable of being defamatory, allowing the case to move forward, although he rejected the argument that the article portrayed Prince Harry as dishonest. The case continued through pre-trial proceedings, including an application by Prince Harry to strike out ANL’s defence. In December 2023, the High Court rejected that application and ruled that the case should proceed to trial, while also ordering Prince Harry to pay £48,447 in legal costs at that stage. In January 2024, Prince Harry withdrew the libel claim, bringing the proceedings to an end. As a result of discontinuing the case, he became liable for a substantial portion of ANL’s legal costs, reported to be approximately £250,000. The libel case remained separate from his ongoing legal challenge against the UK government regarding his entitlement to police protection while visiting the United Kingdom.