Prince Harry wins court award against UK tabloid

Prince Harry  on Monday,February 1, won damages in court from the British tabloid Mail on Sunday , which had accused him of disparaging the army after abandoning his responsibilities as a member of the royal family.

Harrry  sued Associated Newspapers, the group that publishes the Mail On Sunday and its MailOnline website, for defamation in relation to two “nearly identical” articles published in October claiming that he had “not been in contact” with the military since March.

The High Court of London on Monday validated an agreement that resolves the lawsuits, according to which the press group acknowledges that the claims were false and pays the prince an indemnity whose amount was not disclosed.

The funds will go to the Invictus Games Foundation that Queen Elizabeth II’s 36-year-old grandson created to help disabled ex-soldiers, announced his lawyer Jenny Afia.

The two articles, published on October 25, claimed that “exasperated senior officers” were considering replacing Harr as captain general of the Royal Marines because “he had not been in contact by phone, letter or email since his last appearance as an honorary marine. ”.

The articles also claimed that the Duke of Sussex – who served for 10 years in the British Army including missions in Afghanistan – had not responded to a letter addressed to him personally by a former military chief and quoted a retired senior officer asking Harry to “take the job seriously.”

On December 27, the Mail On Sunday published an apology, acknowledging that the Duke had been in contact with the Royal Marines.

After his resounding withdrawal from the British monarchy in 2020, Harry  and his wife Meghan moved to California with their son Archie, born in May 2019. As a consequence, the prince had to resign from his military duties to which he claimed to be very attached