Prince Harry withdraws libel lawsuit against publisher of Mail on Sunday

Prince Harry has decided to drop his libel claim against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Mail on Sunday. The lawsuit was in response to an article that discussed his publicly-funded security arrangements during his visits to the UK after stepping down as a senior royal. The Mail on Sunday announced on their website that the prince had "abandoned his case" just a few hours before the court deadline. As a result, Prince Harry might have to pay the publisher's £250,000 legal costs. No comment has been received from the prince so far. The Mail on Sunday article had focused on changes in the prince's security arrangements after he stopped being a working royal and moved to the United States. In his libel claim, Prince Harry argued that the article falsely accused him of lying and manipulating public opinion. The headline also claimed that the duke had tried to keep his legal battle with the government over police bodyguards a secret. Last month, Prince Harry lost part of the legal battle when his lawyers were unable to convince the judge to dismiss a portion of the publisher's defense.