LONDON (AP) – Prince Harry on Monday accepted an apology and damages from the publisher of the British tabloid The Mail on Sunday and its online version, MailOnline, in a defamation lawsuit over articles about his relationship with the British army.
Harry has sued Associated Newspapers over defamation over two articles published in October, claiming he ousted the Royal Marines after retiring as a senior kingdom.
The articles claim that Harry ‘has not been in contact’ with the force since his last appearance as honorary navy in March, and that military leaders are considering replacing him as captain of the Royal Marines.
Harry served in the British Army for a decade. His lawyers said in court documents that he was “frustrated and saddened” because the articles would diminish his credibility with veterans.
Harry and his wife, Meghan, retired as real royals and moved to the US in early 2019. His honorary military titles were suspended, and they had to be revised in March as part of the monarchy’s review of the couple’s departure arrangements. .
Attorney Jenny Afia, representing Harry, said the publisher accepted that the allegations that he had turned his back on power were false.
The articles were ‘unfounded, false and defamatory’ and ‘were not only a personal attack on the Duke’s character, but also wrongly called into question his service to this country,’ Afia said.
She said Harry ‘was proud to have served in the British Army’s name in the Majesty’s name for ten years’ and ‘has maintained active ties with the forces ever since and will continue to do so in the future.’
After the brief trial at length, a spokesman for Harry said his “commitment to the military community is indisputable.”
The Mail on Sunday issued an apology in December, but it was not enough to stop the lawsuit.
Harry will donate the damages to the Invictus Games Foundation, a charity for wounded or sick conscripts and women he founded, she added. The amount of the damage was not disclosed.
Apart from that, Meghan is also suing Associated Newspapers for invasion of privacy and copyright infringement for articles that published portions of a letter she wrote to her father, Thomas Markle, after her marriage to Harry in 2018.