Prince Harry launches libel action against Mail on Sunday

Prince Harry has launched a libel action days after the Mail on Sunday published claims about problems with his security arrangements.

Court filings show Harry made a claim against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) on Wednesday afternoon. The claims are reportedly related to an article published by the Mail on Sunday under the headline “Revealed: How Harry tried to keep his legal fight over bodyguards secret”.

The Duke of Sussex is also bringing privacy claims against News Group Newspapers, which publishes the Sun, and Mirror Group Newspapers, now Reach, which publishes the Mirror, over alleged phone hacking and unlawful information gathering.

Prince Harry, 37, is also involved in litigation against the Home Office over his security arrangements when he is in the UK.

The prince lost his taxpayer-funded police protection when he and Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex, stepped back from royal duties in 2020. The couple privately fund their security in the US, where they now live.

The prince is challenging the Home Office decision not to allow him to personally pay for police protection for himself and his family while in the UK.

Harry wants to bring his son, Archie, and daughter, Lilibet, to visit from the US, but his lawyers say he and his family are “unable to return to his home” because it is too dangerous. This follows an incident in London in the summer of 2021 when his security was compromised after his car was chased by paparazzi photographers as the prince left a charity event.

Meghan previously brought a successful privacy claim against ANL over articles which reproduced parts of a “personal and private” handwritten letter to her estranged father, Thomas Markle.

She was awarded £1 nominal damages, along with an undisclosed sum in damages for copyright infringement, which she donated to charity, after winning her case.

ANL was also ordered to issue a front-page apology and pay the duchess’s legal costs. An appeal by ANL was dismissed by senior judges in December last year.

A spokesperson for Harry said: “I can confirm the duke has filed a complaint against Associated Newspapers Limited.”

Associated Newspapers Limited has been approached for comment.