Prince Harry to pay over £48,000 in legal costs after losing part of libel battle

Prince Harry has been ordered to pay more than £48,000 in legal costs to the publishers of the Mail on Sunday after losing part of a libel battle. The dispute stems from an article about Prince Harry’s security arrangements, which the prince claims falsely suggested he had “lied” and “cynically” tried to manipulate public opinion.

The Mail on Sunday article discussed changes to the prince’s publicly funded security after he had stopped being a working royal and moved to the United States. The headline alleged that Prince Harry had tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret, but that his “PR machine” tried to spin the story in a positive light after it broke.

Prince Harry’s lawyers attempted to strike out part of the newspaper’s defense, arguing it had no real prospect of success. However, the judge ruled that the case should proceed to trial, stating that the newspaper’s argument of “honest opinion” had a real prospect of successfully defending the case.

The trial is expected to take place between mid-May and the end of July next year and will focus on the timing of when Prince Harry first offered to make a private payment towards the cost of his police protection. The costs for this part of the case, totaling £48,447, are just a fraction of the overall legal expenses involved in the ongoing libel dispute.