Prince Harry abandons lawsuit, faces $1.5m bill

The Duke of Sussex faces a massive legal bill after a shock, 11th-hour withdrawal from a major defamation court case against a UK newspaper.

Prince Harry withdrew a defamation case against a UK newspaper after a judge ruled the publisher had a “real prospect” of showing the Duke was misleading to the public.

In a major blow to the prince’s series of legal challenges, he now faces paying legal costs for himself and the Mail on Sunday estimated to reach a combined $1.5 million.

Prince Harry’s legal team informed London’s High Court he was “discontinuing” the case just hours before the deadline to submit documents for the libel trial – where he was expected to face cross-examination on the witness stand.

Prince Harry’s lawyers, Schillings, were due to file documents considered to be “relevant” to the case as part of pre-trial disclosure, which would cover emails, text messages, and other forms of private correspondence.

Prince Harry arrives to the Royal Courts of Justice in 2023. The Duke withdrew a libel lawsuit against UK newspaper Mail on Sunday. Picture: AFP

A spokesperson for Prince Harry said years had lapsed since the complaint was first filed, as is the nature with legal proceedings.

“In the time since, the main hearing relating to the duke’s judicial review has taken place and we are awaiting the final decision as to whether Ravec [the executive committee for the protection of royalty and public figures] acted lawfully with regard to his security,” the statement said.

“His focus remains there, and on the safety of his family, rather than these legal proceedings that give a continued platform to the Mail’s false claims all those years ago.”

The withdrawal comes after Prince Harry lost a bid to have the “honest opinion” legal defence of Associated Newspapers Ltd thrown out in, with Justice Matthew Nicklin ruling in December that the publisher had a “real prospect” showing statements issued on the Duke’s behalf were misleading.

Justice Nicklin ordered Prince Harry to pay almost $100,000 in legal fees to the publisher after the December ruling, and the Mail on Sunday estimates about $480,000 of additional fees that the Duke could face paying on top of his own legal expenses.

Prince Harry sued the publisher alleging he was defamed by a “fundamentally inaccurate” article that suggested he lied in his statements over a legal challenge against the UK government’s decision to strip his security detail. That case remains active.

The 2022 story at the centre of a libel case alleged Prince Harry attempted to keep his legal battle with the UK’s Home Office secret from the public, with the headline: “How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret … then — just minutes after the story broke — his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute.”

Associated Newspapers Ltd. argued the article expressed an “honest opinion” and did not seriously harm Prince Harry’s reputation.

Prince Harry won the first stage of the suit when Justice Nicklin ruled the article was defamatory, but that had not considered whether it was nevertheless accurate or in the public interest.

It was one of several lawsuits brought against the UK press by Prince Harry, who celebrated a win against the Mirror News Group in December as a vindicating win of “slaying dragons”.

The judge in that case awarded Prince Harry $267,522 in damages for “hurt” and “distress” over 15 of 33 articles ruled to be the result of phone hacking between 2003 and 2011.

“I’ve been told slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press — it’s a worthwhile price to pay,” Harry said in a statement released by his legal team.

“I respectfully call upon the authorities —the financial regulator, the stock market who were deliberately deceived by Mirror Group, and indeed the Metropolitan Police and prosecuting authorities —to do their duty for the British public and investigate bringing charges against the company and those who have broken the law.”

Originally published as Prince Harry abandons lawsuit, faces $1.5m bill