To say that Prince Harry and Meghan Markle have had a bad time in the British press would be an understatement. Part of the blame could be put on the British press for why Harry and Meghan left behind their royal duties.
In a recent libel lawsuit, a London judge has ordered Prince Harry to pay over $60,000 (£50,000) in legal fees to the publisher of The Daily Mail. What started this lawsuit? Why does Harry have to pay The Daily Mail? Let’s get into it.
Why Is Prince Harry Suing Associated Newspapers?
The Duke of Sussex is suing Associated Newspapers over an article that was “fundamentally inaccurate,” according to his lawsuit. He believes the newspaper defamed him when it suggested he lied in his public statements over the government’s decision to deny him security detail after he and his family moved to the U.S. in 2020.
The lawsuit also states that The Daily Mail reported on sensitive information that endangers Harry and his family.
Harry and Several Others Fight the Tabloids
Prince Harry wasn’t the only celebrity to sue Associated Newspapers, which includes The Daily Mail, The Mail on Sunday, and MailOnline. Singer Elton John, actors Sadie Frost and Elizabeth Hurley, and other plaintiffs argued the confidential information dating back to 1992 was acquired through illicit means.
Some of this information, plaintiffs alleged, included intercepting voicemail messages, listening to live calls, and obtaining private medical and financial information.
Associated Newspapers Attempted to Have the Case Thrown Out
Associated Newspapers attempted to have the case thrown out, stating that the claims, which related to alleged wrongdoings from decades ago, were brought to the courts too late.
Associated Newspapers, in a statement in November, said that “the lurid claims made by Prince Harry and others of phone-hacking, landline-tapping, burglary, and sticky-window microphones are simply preposterous, and we look forward to establishing this in court in due course” (via The New York Times).
The Plaintiffs Believe Their Claims Are Valid
Prince Harry and the plaintiffs, which included Doreen Lawrence, the mother of Stephen Lawrence (a Black teenager who was murdered in a racially charged attack), argued that their claims were valid.
Some plaintiffs state that their claims were deliberately concealed, and the statute of limitation period did not begin until they became aware of the discovery of concealment.
The Plaintiffs Reason Why They Are in the Right
“As we have maintained since the outset, we bring our claims over the deplorable and illegal activities which took place over many years, including private investigators being hired to place secretly listening devices inside our cars and homes, the tapping of our phone calls, corrupt payments to police for inside information, and the illegal accessing of our medical information from hospitals and financial information from banks,” several plaintiffs said in a statement issued through their lawyers (via The Associated Press).
“We intend to uncover the truth at trial and hold those responsible at Associated Newspapers fully accountable.”
The Justice Makes His Ruling on the Challenge
The court rejected the bid by Associated Newspapers to dismiss the case without trial in November.
Later, in December, Justice Matthew Nicklin ruled in the High Court in London that the publisher had a “real prospect” that the statements issued on Prince Harry’s behalf were misleading and the article reflected an “honest opinion” and was not defamatory, rejecting Harry’s challenge.
The Alleged Evidence Couldn’t Be Relied On
Nicklin ruled that the claims could not rely on the documents handed over to the courts, which were ordered to be kept confidential by Brian Leveson. The Associated Press believed that payments of private investigators by The Daily Mail and The Mail on Sunday were included in the records.
Justice Nicklin said Associated Newspapers “has not been able to deliver a ‘knockout blow’ to the claims of any of these claimants.”
The Associated Newspapers Celebrates the Win
As Justice Nicklin wrote in the ruling, “The defendant may well submit that this was a master class in the art of ‘spinning'” (via The Associated Press).
Harry must pay the newspaper by Dec. 29, per the judge’s order.
Prince Harry’s Vendetta Against the U.K. Press
This was one of the several lawsuits brought against the tabloids in the U.K. by the Duke of Sussex. It seems that he has made it his mission to bring the British tabloids to their knees and reel back their activities against the royal family.
For years, Harry has blamed the media for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in Paris after being pursued by paparazzi in 1997.
Meghan Markle Became a Target for the British Press
Meghan Markle was the main target of the British tabloids after one Mail Online headline declared that she was “(almost) straight outta Compton.” The Daily Star also ran a headline around the same time, questioning if Harry would “marry into gangster royalty.”
These headlines from 2016 would set a tone for the harmful stereotypes and perceptions Markle would have in the U.K. media.
Prince Harry Is the First Senior Royal to Take the Stand in 100 Years
After Harry blamed his family for not stepping in when the abuse became insufferable, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex quit royal duties and moved to California. In June, Harry became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court in more than a century when he gave evidence of phone hacking against the publishers of The Daily Mirror.
There has not been a ruling in that case. However, Harry is gearing up for another lawsuit against The Sun newspaper, alongside actor Hugh Grant, which is scheduled to go to trial early next year.
