New defeat for Prince Harry - He has to go to court in 2024 to sue
Prince Harry (39) had actually hoped for a judgment in his favor without a trial. However, a judge at London's High Court has now ruled that Harry must take his libel case against the Mail on Sunday to court. This was reported by "Sky News", among others.
Harry wanted to sue the Mail on Sunday last year over an article published in February 2022 about his complaint against the Home Office over the withdrawal of police protection from him in the UK. The report said, among other things, that Harry had tried to keep the legal dispute with the British government over his publicly funded security arrangements secret. After he and his wife Duchess Meghan (42) stepped down as high-ranking royals in 2020, they were stripped of police protection in the UK. Harry is currently fighting for this legally.
Statement against statement
The Mail on Sunday report also stated that Harry had wanted to mislead the public about his willingness to pay for police work himself. He now wants to sue the paper for libel. His lawyers said the article was "an attack on his honesty and integrity" and undermined his charity work and efforts to combat misinformation on the internet.
The Mail on Sunday, on the other hand, argued that the article merely expressed an "honest opinion" and had "not seriously damaged" Harry's reputation.
Prince Harry must stand trial in 2024
Specifically, Harry's lawyers applied in March for the Mail on Sunday's defense to be rejected and for a ruling to be issued in his favor - without a trial. The judge at London's High Court refused the application. In a written statement, he came to the conclusion that the Mail on Sunday had a "real prospect" of defending the case: "The Duke of Sussex's claim will now proceed through the remaining pre-trial stages and, unless otherwise resolved, will go to trial sometime in 2024."
A hearing is due to take place next Tuesday to decide how the case will proceed.
He felt "forced" to leave his home country
In addition to the libel case against the Mail on Sunday, Harry is currently fighting a legal battle against the Home Office's decision to withdraw police protection from him and his family in the UK. Harry recently suffered a defeat in court in this dispute. He is not entitled to police protection in the UK even if he were to pay for it out of his own pocket, it was said. However, the court had allowed him to have the decision reviewed. The proceedings are currently underway, in which Harry's lawyers are challenging the landmark decision made by the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec) in 2020.
As part of the proceedings, Harry recently made a statement to the court in which he said, among other things, that he felt "compelled" to move to the USA around four years ago. "The UK is central to my children's heritage and I want them to feel as much at home as they do where they currently live in the US. That cannot happen if it is not possible to protect them on British soil." Harry also argued that he would be putting his wife Meghan and himself "at risk" if they were not given the appropriate protection.
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Source: www.stern.de
