The Duke of Sussex's libel claim against the publisher of The Mail on Sunday will be temporarily paused to see if a settlement can be reached, the High Court heard on Tuesday.
Harry is suing Associated Newspapers Limited (ANL), publisher of The Mail on Sunday, after the newspaper ran a story following a hearing in Harry's separate High Court claim over his security arrangements when he is in the UK.
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The article in question was published in February under the headline, "Exclusive: How Prince Harry tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret … then – just minutes after the story broke – his PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute."
ANL is contesting the claim on the basis the article expressed an "honest opinion" and will also argue it did not cause "serious harm" to his reputation.
At a preliminary hearing on Tuesday, Judge Barbara Fontaine was told Harry and ANL have agreed to continue efforts to reach a settlement and will conduct negotiations until 20 January.
If no settlement is agreed, the Duke will ask the court to either strike out ANL's defence or give summary judgment in his favour, avoiding the need for a trial.
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© Photo: Getty ImagesHarry and Meghan last visited the UK in September for the Queen's funeral
The High Court heard Harry says he made an offer to pay for, or contribute towards, security costs for himself and his family when they were in the UK at a meeting at Sandringham in January 2020, at which the late Queen and King Charles were present.
He then reiterated his offer at a meeting with Sir Mark Sedwill, then cabinet secretary and UK home security adviser, the following month.
However, part of ANL's defence is that the offer was not made or communicated to the Executive Committee for the Protection of Royalty and Public Figures (Ravec).
In July, Mr Justice Nicklin ruled in Harry's favour on the first stage of his libel claim, relating to the “objective meaning” of the article, following a hearing in June.
The pause in Harry's libel claim comes the day after the second trailer for his and Meghan's Netflix docuseries was released on Monday. In the one-minute teaser clip, the Duke accuses the palace of "planting stories". The first three episodes will be released on Thursday 8 December.
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