Harry left counting the cost of his failed fight with Mail in UK courts
PRINCE Harry faces a £750,000 (€875,000) legal bill after admitting defeat in a court case he brought against the Mail on Sunday.
Just six hours before a deadline for handing over a list of documents, Harry dramatically abandoned his case. The material could eventually have been aired in a three-day libel trial over claims that he was responsible for a ‘masterclass in the art of spinning’ designed to mislead the public.
But as the deadline loomed for disclosing what documents he held, Harry threw in the towel. His lawyers informed the London High Court at 10am yesterday he was discontinuing his case.
He faces having to pay the newspaper’s costs of £250,000 (€290,000) along with his own lawyers’ fees of around £500,000 (€580,000).
Harry had sued the MoS for libel over a February 2022 article about his legal dispute with the British Home Office following its decision to downgrade his taxpayerfunded police protection.
The piece said Harry’s PR aides had tried to ‘spin’ the battle with the Home Office.
Harry’s lawyers Schillings were so confident that they asked Judge Nicklin to have the case ruled in the prince’s favour without even having a trial. But last month, the judge rejected this request, ruling the newspaper had a ‘real prospect’ of demonstrating at trial that the royal ‘was responsible for attempting to mislead and confuse the public as to the true position’.
The judge’s ruling was a blow to Harry and meant the case progressed toward a trial, which had been due to be held between May 17 and July 31 this year.