On Monday, it was reported that Prince Harry officially settled a legal dispute that he had with the Mail on Sunday and MailOnline. His legal team said that he has accepted “significant damages” over an article that alleged that he turned his back on the Royal Marines, per CNN. The Duke of Sussex has requested that any damages that he receives go back to the Invictus Games Foundation, a paralympic-style event for wounded and servicemen and women that he began in 2014.
Jenny Afia, a lawyer for Harry, said in a statement to open court on Monday that “the baseless, false and defamatory stories published constituted not only a personal attack on the Duke’s character, but also wrongly brought into question his service to this country.” His attorney continued to state that the prince has requested that any damages that he would receive go to the Invictus Games Foundation “so he could feel something good had come out of the situation.” Harry previously served in the British military and flew combat missions in Afghanistan. This legal matter began when the Mail on Sunday published an article in October 2020 entitled “Top General accuses Harry of Turning his Back on the Marines.” MailOnline published an identical piece.
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In both of those stories, they alleged that the prince “snubbed” the Royal Marines and the British military and that he ignored correspondence from Lord Dannatt, who is a former Chief of the General Staff. Afia said in regards to these claims, “All these allegations are false as the Mail on Sunday and the MailOnline have now accepted, albeit after considerable damage was already done.” On Dec. 3, 2020, the Mail on Sunday offered to settle the dispute. They said that they would publish apologies, pay substantial damages, and not repeat the same allegations. In late December, the outlet did publish an apology to Harry in which they detailed the shortcomings in their previously published article.
A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussex released a statement about this case, which read, “The Mail on Sunday and MailOnline publicly admitted in open court that they pushed a completely false and defamatory story. And they’ve apologized for questioning The Duke of Sussex’s commitment to the Royal Marines and British Armed Forces.” The Mail on Sunday declined to comment on CNN’s report about this case.
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