Prince Harry to sue Mail on Sunday publisher over 'libellous' news article
He joins his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, in taking action against the publishers of the paper.
Monday 7 December 2020 23:55, UK
Prince Harry is suing the publisher of the Mail on Sunday over a story claiming he has fallen out of touch with the Royal Marines.
Law firm Schillings, which represents the Duke of Sussex and his wife Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, filed the action against Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL) at the end of November.
It is understood that the suit relates to a story published in October which is said to have claimed the Prince had not been in contact with the Marines since he stepped back from being a working royal in March.
Papers outlining the case are expected to become public in the next few weeks.
The Duchess of Sussex already has ongoing legal action against ANL, which also publishes the Daily Mail and the MailOnline.
This suit is related to an article that appeared in the Mail on Sunday which reproduced parts of a handwritten letter sent by Meghan to her father Thomas Markle in August 2018.
The duchess is seeking damages for alleged misuse of private information, copyright infringement and breach of the Data Protection Act.
In October of this year, the trial for this case was postponed from January 2021 until the autumn for a confidential reason.
Harry also has ongoing legal action, although these are against different publishers.
He is suing News Group Newspapers - owners of The Sun and the defunct News of the World - as well as Mirror Group Newspapers - publisher of the Daily and Sunday Mirror - over claims of historical phone hacking.
When he stepped away from life as a senior royal, the Duke of Sussex also relinquished his honorary military titles.
These included his roles as Captain General of the Royal Marines, Honorary Air Force Commandant of the Royal Air Force Base Honington, and Honorary Commodore-in-Chief of the Royal Naval Commands' Small Ships and Diving.
The duke spent a decade serving in the armed forces, and took part in two frontline tours of Afghanistan.
Harry last month said he had been "born into a life of duty", and that while in the military he had "committed to a life of service".
The Mail on Sunday declined to comment on the new case.