Harry’s libel claim approved in High Court

A LIBEL claim brought by Prince Harry against The Mail on Sunday was given the go-ahead by a judge yesterday.

The duke is suing over an article the newspaper published about his battle with the Home Office regarding his security when he visits Britain.

The piece was published in February under 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.’

In a preliminary judgment yesterday, the High Court ruled that the words used in the article were capable of being defamatory. However, Mr Justice Nicklin threw out the duke’s claim that the article meant he had lied.

The case, which is at an early stage, is separate to the legal proceedings Prince Harry is bringing against the Home Office over a decision to axe his taxpayer-funded police bodyguards after he and his wife Meghan quit their roles as senior royals for a new life in the US.

In the libel case, Harry is suing the newspaper for its report on his battle with the Home Office.

Yesterday’s preliminary judgment relates only to the ‘objective meaning’ of the article, Mr Justice Nicklin said. The newspaper’s publisher, Associated Newspapers, will now have the opportunity to file a defence to the duke’s claim.