Harry tried to play his cards by attempting to strike out part of the paper's defense, but alas, the judge wasn't having it. They slapped him with a £50,000 bill for damages. Ouch! Now, this legal saga centers on an article titled "How Prince Harry Tried to Keep the Legal Fight with the Government Over Bodyguards Secret." Classic tabloid material, right? Harry's legal team argued that the article attacked his honesty and integrity, claiming it suggested that Harry lied about trying to keep details of the battle under wraps.
But let's not forget, our Prince isn't just battling the Mail on Sunday – he's taking on multiple newspaper conglomerates. This skirmish involves ANL, the proud owner of the Daily Mail and, you guessed it, the Mail on Sunday. Talk about going up against the big guns.
Now, you might be wondering, what's this "honest opinion" defense? Essentially, it's a claim that an honest person reading the article would come to the same conclusion as what's being reported. Harry tried to shut it down, but the judge ruled otherwise, and now he has to pay up £50,000 by December 29th. Merry Christmas indeed!
But here's where it gets even juicier. Harry's legal team argued that the original article attacked his honesty, claiming that he offered to pay for police protection before the Mail on Sunday's exposé. Hold your horses there; offering it to the royal family at Sandringham Summit doesn't quite cut it when it's the government's call, especially the Ravi Committee. Nice try, though.
And here's the kicker – even if Harry did make that offer at the summit, the government wasn't represented. So, it's essentially like shouting into the void. Harry's making it sound like they're stripping away all his security, but in reality, they just want him to submit an application 28 days before visiting the UK. It's not like they're taking it all away.
But here's the real kicker, folks – if Harry wins, guess who's footing the bill every time he steps foot in the UK? That's right, it's the UK taxpayers. So, let's start getting a little upset; this could potentially be a slippery slope toward police protection for those who can't afford it. Not on our watch!
In a nutshell, Harry's £50,000 Christmas present to the Mail on Sunday is a clear indication of his failed attempts to silence the media. The judge said, "No, mate, you can't throw out their defense," and now he's got to pay up. It's a double loss for our Prince.
