Prince Harry, UK publisher to temporarily pause defamation case

Prince Harry and Associated Newspapers, one of Britain's biggest media publishers, have agreed a temporary pause in his libel claim to try to settle the case, London's High Court heard.

The Duke of Sussex sued the publisher in February over an article in the Mail which alleged he tried to keep secret details of his legal fight with Britain's interior ministry to reinstate his police protection.

Prince Harry said that the Mail published an "unremittingly negative" article about his ongoing case against the Home Office. The High Court ruled it was defamatory in July.

Associated Newspapers, however, argued that the article contains "an expression of opinion" about Prince Harry's public statements on his legal case over police protection.

The case returned to court for a preliminary hearing on Tuesday at which Prince Harry's lawyer Jane Phillips said the parties have agreed to put the case on hold until mid-January in order to try and negotiate a settlement "if that is indeed possible".

Judge Barbara Fontaine ruled that Prince Harry's lawyers should provide "clarification" about the offer he says he made, which she added would "assist the parties ... in the attempts about [a] settlement, which I hope are successful".

The hearing came just days before the release of a much-anticipated Netflix documentary about Prince Harry and Meghan Markle.