Prince Harry loses complaint against UK tabloid Mail on Sunday

The Duke of Sussex has lost a legal battle with UK outlet Mail on Sunday over photos posted to his Instagram account last year.

Britain’s Prince Harry has lost a complaint against tabloid newspaper the Mail on Sunday about a story criticising wildlife photographs he posted on Instagram.

The Prince alleged the newspaper had run the inaccurate headline “Drugged and tethered … what Harry didn’t tell you about those awe-inspiring wildlife photos” in an article about pictures he had posted online of himself and an elephant.

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The decision is a blow to Prince Harry. Picture: AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth

The weekly reported that another picture showed the animal was tethered with a rope.

Harry complained the paper had made it seem he had deliberately cropped out the rope, and he had posted the full picture in 2016.

Harry posted a series of photos to mark Earth Day in April last year.

He also said the website of the conservation organisation explained how it tranquillised and tethered the animals.

But the independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) watchdog rejected the complaint on Thursday.

“The complainant (Harry) said the article was inaccurate as it reported that … he had intentionally misled the public to give the impression that he was a superior wildlife photographer who had captured the images in dangerous circumstances,” said IPSO.

“The Committee did not consider that it was significantly misleading to report that the photographs posted on the complainant’s Instagram account did not quite tell the full story and that the complainant had not explained the circumstances in which the photographs had been taken,” it added in a ruling.

The couple have also launched lawsuits against UK outlets over articles published about Meghan. Picture: Ben Birchall – WPA Pool/Getty Images

The Prince, 35, has launched multiple complaints against newspapers recently, ramping up hostilities with the media that he blames for his mother Diana’s death and for unfair reporting on his wife Meghan.

The couple stunned the country earlier this month when they announced they were stepping back from frontline royal duties to spend more time living in North America.