Prince Harry is no stranger to the courtroom. The Duke of Sussex has numerous outstanding lawsuits. While the Platinum Jubilee was a pleasant distraction, he’s now preparing for another libel case against a prominent UK publisher. Here’s what’s going on.
A Case On A Case
The Mail on Sunday has made an enemy of Harry and Meghan Markle. The British tabloid has already been brought to court once before for publishing Markle’s letters. It lost that case, but that didn’t stop it from publishing stories about the pair.
Back in February, the Mail on Sunday published a story with the headline: “Exclusive: 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.” The story was about Harry’s secret dealings with the government to try and gain police protection for his family on subsequent visits.
Darkness Into The Light
Per Harry’s lawyers, the story caused “substantial hurt, embarrassment and distress which is continuing.” It turned an issue Harry was trying hard to keep private into a public spectacle. As a result, Harry is suing the paper for libel. It’s up to the judge to decide whether the statements in the article were true and if they’re defamatory.
Related: Judge Demands Apology From Prince Harry’s Lawyer Over Leak
The legal team for Harry is naturally framing the story as “defamatory.” It writes that he “tried to keep his legal fight with the Government secret from the public,” and the article “improperly and cynically” tried to manipulate the public. It’ll be up to Associated Newspapers Limited, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, to prove otherwise. A written ruling is expected in the coming months.
Will This Never End For Prince Harry?
There’s an element of Kafkaesque horror to this situation. Harry’s lawsuits breed lawsuits. His bringing the Mail on Sunday to court again proves a few things: Harry isn’t afraid to get litigious, and he’s paying attention to the United Kingdom’s opinion of him.
As for the police protection issue, whatever end result Harry reached must have been satisfactory. The whole family attended Queen Elizabeth’s platinum jubilee, where Lilibet Diana could finally meet her namesake. The couple was booed by crowds at one point, which could actually lend credence to Harry’s lawsuit.
One has to think Harry could mend his relationship with the British public simply by doing what he’s doing. He and Prince William are reportedly defrosting their tension, and the platinum jubilee was a step in the right direction. That being said, we wouldn’t hold our breath on Harry reconciling with the tabloid press.