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LONDON (AP) – Prince Harry on Monday accepted an apology and damages from the publisher of British tabloid The Mail on Sunday and its online version, MailOnline, in a defamation lawsuit over articles about his relationship with the British armed forces.
Harry sued Associated Newspapers for libel over two articles published in October, claiming he snubbed the Royal Marines after stepping down as senior royal.
The articles claimed Harry had “not been in contact” with the force since his last appearance as an honorary navy in March, and that military leaders were considering replacing him as captain general of the Royal Marines.
Harry had served for a decade in the British Army. His lawyers said in court documents he was “frustrated and saddened” because the articles would diminish his credibility with veterans.
Harry and his wife, Meghan, resigned their posts as members of the Royal Family and moved to the United States in early 2019. His honorary military titles were suspended and were due to be reviewed in March as part of the review by the monarchy of the couple’s departure arrangements. .
Attorney Jenny Afia, representing Harry, said the publisher had accepted that the claims that he had turned his back on force were false.
The articles were “baseless, false and defamatory” and “not only constituted a personal attack on the Duke’s character, but also wrongly called into question his service in this country,” Afia said.
She said Harry was “proud to have served in the British Armed Forces for 10 years on Her Majesty’s behalf” and “has maintained active ties with these forces ever since and will continue to do so in the future”.
After the brief remote hearing, a spokesperson for Harry said his “commitment to the military community is unquestionable.”
The Mail on Sunday issued an apology in December, but that was not enough to stop the trial.
Harry will donate the damage to the Invictus Games Foundation, a charity for injured and sick military personnel that he founded, she added. The amount of damages was not disclosed.
Separately, Meghan is also suing Associated Newspapers for breach of privacy and copyright over articles that published parts of a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, after her marriage to Harry in 2018.
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