Prince Harry drops libel lawsuit against U.K. publisher

Lawyers for the Duke of Sussex notified that he would not continue the lawsuit against Associated Newspapers Ltd.

Prince Harry dropped his libel lawsuit Friday against the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid following a ruling in which a judge cast doubt on his case as it was headed to trial.

Lawyers for the Duke of Sussex notified the High Court in London that he would not continue the suit against Associated Newspapers Ltd.

No reason was given, but it came the day he was due to hand over documents in the case and after a punishing ruling last month in which a judge ordered Harry to pay the publisher nearly 50,000 pounds (more than CA$80,000) in legal fees after he failed to achieve victory without going to trial.

The action will leave him on the hook to pay the publisher’s legal fees, which the Daily Mail reported to be 250,000 pounds (CA$426,000). A spokesperson for the duke said it was premature to speculate about costs.

The case involved a Mail on Sunday article that said Harry tried to hide his efforts to retain publicly funded protection in the U.K. after walking away from his role as a working member of the royal family.

Harry’s lawyers claimed the article attacked his honesty and integrity by purporting to reveal that court documents “contradicted public statements he had previously made about his willingness to pay for police protection for himself and his family whilst in the U.K.” He said the article would undermine his charity work.

The publisher argued the article expressed an honest opinion and caused no serious harm to his reputation.

In March, Harry sought summary judgment — to win the case without going to trial — and tried to knock out the Mail’s defense but a judge didn’t buy it.