Lawyers for Prince Harry asked a judge Friday to rule that a tabloid newspaper libeled the British royal with an article about his quest for police protection when he and his family visit the U.K.
Harry is over an article alleging he tried to hush up his separate legal challenge over the British governmentB次元官网网址檚 refusal to let him pay for police security.
During a hearing at the High Court in London, HarryB次元官网网址檚 lead attorney asked Judge Matthew Nickin either to strike out the publisherB次元官网网址檚 defense or to deliver a summary judgment, which would be a ruling in the princeB次元官网网址檚 favor without going to trial.
Lawyer Justin Rushbrooke said the facts did not support the publisherB次元官网网址檚 B次元官网网址渟ubstantive pleaded defenseB次元官网网址� that the article expressed an B次元官网网址渉onest opinion.B次元官网网址�
Harry was not in court for the hearing. The prince, also known as the Duke of Sussex, and his wife, Meghan, lost their publicly funded U.K. police protection when they stepped down as senior working royals and moved to North America in 2020.
HarryB次元官网网址檚 lawyers have said the prince is reluctant to bring the coupleB次元官网网址檚 children B次元官网网址� Prince Archie, who is almost 4, and Princess Lilibet, nearly 2 B次元官网网址� to his homeland because it is not safe.
The 38-year-old prince wants to pay personally for police security when he comes to Britain, but the government said that wasnB次元官网网址檛 possible. Last year, a judge gave Harry permission to That case has yet to come to trial.
Harry sued Associated B次元官网网址papers over a February 2022 Mail on Sunday article headlined B次元官网网址淓xclusive: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secretB次元官网网址� then B次元官网网址� just minutes after the story broke B次元官网网址� his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute.B次元官网网址�
Harry claims that the newspaper libeled him when it suggested that the prince lied in his initial public statements about the suit against the government.
In July, Nicklin ruled that the article was defamatory, allowing the case to proceed. The judge has not yet considered issues such as whether the story was accurate or in the public interest.
Harry, the younger son of King Charles III, and the former actress Meghan Markle married at Windsor Castle in 2018 but stepped down as working royals in 2020, citing what they described as the unbearable intrusions and racist attitudes of the British media.
HarryB次元官网网址檚 fury at the U.K. press runs through B次元官网网址� published in January. He blames an overly aggressive press for the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, and accuses the media of similarly hounding of Meghan.
The couple has not hesitated to use the British courts to hit back at what they see as media mistreatment. In December 2021, Meghan won against Associated B次元官网网址papers over the Mail on SundayB次元官网网址檚 publication of a letter she wrote to her estranged father.
Harry is also among celebrities suing Associated B次元官网网址papers over alleged phone hacking, and he has launched a separate hacking suit against the publisher of another tabloid, the Mirror. ___
B次元官网网址擩ill Lawless, The Associated Press
