It is reported that The Duke of Sussex has accepted an apology and “substantial damages” from the publishers of the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline following their claims that he snubbed the Royal Marines following him stepping down as a senior member of The Royal Family in March 2020.
The article suggested that senior military figures were “exasperated” with the situation surrounding Prince Harry and wanted to find a replacement for Harry as Captain General of the Royal Marines. The article also stated that The Duke of Sussex had not been in touch with the Royal Marines since he and The Duchess of Sussex left the United Kingdom last year.
Prince Harry subsequently launched a libel claim against publisher Associated Newspapers Ltd in which he said he had suffered “high damage” and was “personally affronted” by the allegations that he was not taking his role seriously. The claim by the newspaper was centred on a claim that Prince Harry had not replied to a letter from Lord Dannatt which had appealed to him to support the military community in Britain.
The Duke of Sussex has formally agreed to settle the case with ANL and has accepted an apology and substantial damages which he will donate to the Invictus Games charity. On behalf of Prince Harry, his lawyer, Jenny Afia, commented, “The truth is The Duke of Sussex made repeated and concerted efforts to support the Royal Marines and other members of the Armed Forces and their families in the past year, even though he was required to step back from formal military roles.”
The Mail on Sunday printed an apology on 27th December 2020 stating that The Duke of Sussex had indeed been in touch with the Royal Marines.
Photo: https://www.flickr.com/people/58820009@N05">Eva Rinaldi</a> from Sydney Australia - <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/evarinaldiphotography/17212621769/">Prince Harry</a>, https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0" title="Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 2.0">CC BY-SA 2.0https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=40135464">LinkEva Rinaldi