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Prince Harry won the first stage of his legal battle against the UK’s Mail on Sunday.
The Duke of Sussex filed a claim against the newspaper’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), over parts of an article published in February that he claimed caused “serious damage to his reputation and substantial hurt, embarrassment and distress which is continuing.”
A High Court judge in London ruled Friday that the article in question about the 37-year-old was “defamatory.”
“It may be possible to ‘spin’ facts in a way that does not mislead, but the allegation being made in the article was very much that the object was to mislead the public,” said Judge Matthew Nicklin, as quoted by ITV. “That supplies the necessary element to make the meanings defamatory at common law.”
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The Duke of Sussex’s legal team argued that the report in question caused “serious damage to his reputation and substantial hurt, embarrassment and distress which is continuing.”
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The judge added that this was “very much the first phase” of the libel claim.
“The next step will be for the defendant to file a defense to the claim,” said Judge Nicklin, as quoted by the BBC. “It will be a matter for determination later in the proceedings whether the claim succeeds or fails, and if so on what basis.”
The piece, published in February, is titled: “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 article in question was about the prince’s legal claim against the British government’s Home Office. In his case against the government, Harry seeks a judicial review to force the government to provide official security for him and his family, including his wife Meghan Markle and their two children, Archie and Lilibet.
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Meghan Markle successfully sued the publisher after it reproduced parts of a private letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle.
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The Duke and Duchess of Sussex have noted they would pay for the security but want it to be provided via the Home Office. Harry’s attorneys stressed that he and his family are “unable to return to his home” country because he “does not feel safe.”
Their children are ages 3 and 1.
In her own legal battle, Markle previously sued Associated Newspapers. Three senior judges ruled the publisher breached the 40-year-old’s privacy by reproducing parts of a letter she wrote to her estranged father Thomas Markle. While the publisher appealed and a hearing was held, a judge dismissed the appeal, noting “The duchess had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of the letter. Those contents were personal, private and not matters of legitimate public interest.”
At the time, Markle said the ruling was “a victory not just for me, but for anyone who has ever felt scared to stand up for what’s right.”
In June, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle briefly traveled to the UK for Queen Elizabeth’s Platinum Jubilee, which marked the 96-year-old’s 70 years on the throne.
(Photo by Matt Dunham – WPA Pool/Getty Images)
“What matters most is that we are now collectively brave enough to reshape a tabloid industry that conditions people to be cruel, and profits from the lies and pain that they create,” she said.
The former American actress was awarded a symbolic £1 ($1.20). She also received an undisclosed sum that was donated to charity.
Markle, a former American actress, became the Duchess of Sussex when she married the British prince in May 2018 at Windsor Castle. The couple welcomed a son named Archie Harrison Mountbatten-Windsor in 2019.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex’s departures from royal duties began in 2020 over what they described as the British media’s intrusions and racist attitudes towards the former “Suits” star. The family now resides in the coastal city of Montecito, California.
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex reside in California with their two children.
(Photo by Chris Jackson – Pool/Getty Images)
In the wake of quitting royal duties, the couple gave an explosive TV interview in March 2021 to Oprah Winfrey, in which the couple described painful comments about how dark Archie’s skin might be before his birth. The duchess talked about the intense isolation she felt inside the royal family that led her to contemplate suicide.
Buckingham Palace said the allegations of racism made by the couple were “concerning” and would be addressed privately.
In June that year, the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter named Lilibet “Lili” Diana Mountbatten-Windsor. The name pays tribute to both Harry’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, whose family nickname is Lilibet, and his late mother, Princess Diana.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
