Prince Harry Ordered To Pay Mail On Sunday Publisher’s £48k Legal Bill

Prince Harry lost in his attempt to have Mail On Sunday publisher’s defence thrown out. (Photo by DPPA/Sipa USA)(Sipa via AP Images)

Prince Harry was ordered to pay the Mail on Sunday’s hefty legal bill Monday after he failed in his attempt to dismiss part of the newspaper’s defence in a high-profile libel case.

The Duke of Sussex’s case, battling the newspaper’s publisher, Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL), over a February 2022 article regarding his UK security arrangements. The contested article suggested Prince Harry had “lied” to “cynically” manipulate public opinion about the security dispute.

The Duke’s legal team insists the article is libellous, attacking “his honesty and integrity.” They argue it inaccurately implies that Harry had “lied” and “cynically” tried to manipulate public opinion.

The team led a bid to have a key part of ANL’s defence thrown out but High Court judge, Mr Justice Nicklin, ruled Friday in favour of the publisher. The organisation can now retain its ‘honest opinion’ argument in the ongoing libel lawsuit. The judge said that the publisher’s defence was viable for trial and that ANL, in fact, had a “real prospect” of successfully arguing their case.

On Monday, the judge ordered that Prince Harry would need to pay ANL’s legal costs from the failed challenge, now set at £48,447. This must be paid by 29th December.

With no prospect of a settlement in sight, the stage is set for a libel trial between May and July next year.