Prince Harry accepts apology and damages over ‘false and defamatory’ Mail articles

Ruling comes after Duke of Sussex sued Associated Newspapers over two articles published last October relating to his work with Royal Marines

The Duke of Sussex on a visit to 42 Commando Royal Marines at their base in Bickleigh in 2019 (PA)

Prince Harry has accepted an apology and damages from the publisher of The Mail On Sunday and MailOnline over what his lawyer said were baseless, false and defamatory allegations he turned his back on the Royal Marines after stepping down as a senior royal.

The Duke of Sussex sued Associated Newspapers over two articles published in October which claimed he had "not been in touch ... since his last appearance as an honorary Marine in March".

Harry’s lawyers said the allegations had already caused considerable damage and that he would donate the damages to the Invictus Games Foundation so that he could feel something good had come out of the situation.

The two articles, published on 25 October, said "exasperated" top brass were considering removing Harry from his post as Captain General of the Royal Marines, claiming he had not been in touch by phone, letter nor email since his last appearance as an honorary Marine.

The articles also alleged the duke had not responded to a personal letter from Lord Dannatt, a former head of the British Army, and quoted a retired senior officer who called on Harry to take the job seriously.

At a brief remote High Court hearing on Monday, Jenny Afia, representing the duke, told Mr Justice Nicklin that all of the allegations were false, as The Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline had now accepted, albeit after considerable damage was already done.

She said: "The truth is that the Duke of Sussex has made repeated and concerted efforts to continue to support the Royal Marines and other members of the armed forces and their families over the past year, even though he was required to step back from his formal military roles in the 'year of transition' during which he must take a reduced role as a member of the royal family.

"It is also untrue that the duke ignored correspondence from Lord Dannatt."

Ms Afia said Harry had maintained active links with the forces and would continue to do so.

She told the court: "The duke's commitment to the men and women who have put their lives on the line, to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice for their country, and to military families, is steadfast and unquestionable.

"For this reason, the baseless, false and defamatory stories published in the Mail on Sunday and on the website MailOnline constituted not only a personal attack upon the duke's character but also wrongly brought into question his service to this country."

Ms Afia said that the publication of such allegations would unfairly tarnish and diminish the organisations with which the duke was associated and hinder the valuable work they did.

On 27 December, The Mail On Sunday printed an apology, accepting the duke had been in touch with the Royal Marines, and said it had made a donation to the Invictus Games Foundation, which runs the competition for wounded, injured or sick servicemen and women set up by Harry in 2014.

But Ms Afia claimed the apology used wording which significantly underplayed the seriousness of the accusations made against him and did not expressly acknowledge that the allegations were false.

In a statement after the hearing, a spokesman for the Duke of Sussex said the articles were completely false and defamatory.

He said: “The truth is that the duke's commitment to the military community is unquestionable.”

The libel case is separate from the action his wife Meghan Markle is taking against The Mail on Sunday, which she is suing over articles which included parts of a handwritten letter she sent to her estranged father, Thomas Markle, in 2018.

Last month she asked the High Court to rule that the paper breached her privacy and copyright, without the need for a potentially embarrassing trial, which is scheduled for later this year.

Additional reporting by agencies