Prince Harry’s lawyers say a British tabloid newspaper had severely damaged its reputation, harming its ability to help veterans and being ‘suicidal’. Newsweek can reveal.
The Duke of Sussex sues The Post on Sunday due to libel after the newspaper accused him of turning his back on the Royal Marines in an October 15 article.
Harry was captain-general until he resigned at the end of March from royal duties for a new life in America with Meghan Markle.
But The Post on Sunday claims he has since “not been in touch by telephone, letter or email” with the Royal Marines.
Prince Harry’s lawyers say the ‘barely researched and one-sided article’ has left the staff of the forces in doubt about his commitment.
Their submission goes so far as to argue that the military community will be ‘more susceptible to suicide’ because of the impact on its own ability to promote mental health services.
The newspaper is the same as wife Meghan Markle suing for privacy and copyright infringement over a letter she sent to her father.
Max Mumby / Getty
The court case, seen by Newsweek, lui: “[Prince Harry’s] sincere ambition is to continue to assist current and former military personnel by using his reputation and the platform he has as a result of his military service.
“This role essentially depends on [Prince Harry] used his reputation to help such matters by attracting public support for them.
‘The publication of the allegations complained of will severely hamper his ability to do so and therefore have a detrimental effect on the people he wants to help.
“[Prince Harry] has especially used its reputation to support and encourage current and former military personnel to seek help for mental health problems.
‘The publications complained about will decrease [Prince Harry’s] credibility in the eyes of such persons and thus makes it less likely to get help offered.
“[Prince Harry] reasonably fear that it will again have such devastating consequences, including that they will be more susceptible to suicide. ‘
Prince Harry’s lawyers claim he was not given the opportunity to comment on the allegations after his representatives were contacted less than three hours before the article was posted online.
The Mail on Sunday is one of a series of newspapers with which Meghan and Prince Harry banned their representatives from communicating with them.
The website Mail Online presented its article just after midnight and placed the request for comment later than 21:00
The court documents say it is not known whether the story in the issues of the Post on Sunday which went to press. ‘
Harry’s lawyers wrote: ‘[Prince Harry] was personally insulted and caused great damage to his reputation as a result of the disclosure of the words complained of. ‘
They add: “Even to [Prince Harry’s] current knowledge of the chronology in question, it goes without saying that he was not given any or any effective opportunity to respond at all, and to defend himself against the very serious allegations [the Mail on Sunday] continues to publish about him.
‘It was clearly unfair and contrary to the most basic journalistic standards.
‘It has a total disregard of [Prince Harry’s] reputation, for his account of events and therefore for fairness and for the truth. ‘
According to the court report, the accusations were presented as “very credible” because they quoted “informed sources” that could mean “only senior officers of the Royal”.
Marines. ‘
The story included Major General Julian Thompson’s response, describing him as ‘one of Britain’s most celebrated military commanders’.
It is also said that Lord Dannatt, a former Chief of the General Staff of the British Army, wrote a letter to Harry that remained unanswered.