Prince Harry defends Meghan Markle, denies spending $800,000 of taxpayers' money on baby shower and revamping home in new lawsuit
Prince Harry has gone on the offensive for the third time to protect his wife, Meghan Markle, who, according to him is being treated unfairly by the British media.
First, he sued the Mail and its parent company, Associated Newspapers, last month for making the contents of a private letter the Duchess of Sussex wrote to her father public. Then he filed a lawsuit against the News Group Newspapers, owners of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, for allegedly hacking their phones.
Now, Princess Diana's youngest son has sued the Associated Newspapers for the second time for publishing what he claimed were "untrue" stories about his wife's New York baby shower and renovations made to their house, Frogmore Cottage in Windsor.
One of the pieces for which the Mail had to face the wrath of the Duke of Sussex was published on Sunday, November 17, where it alleged that the Royal couple had used $500,000 of taxpayer dollars to soundproof their family home to block out noise from airplanes.
The report went on to add that the home also included a copper bathtub, a built-in yoga studio, a tennis court and a guest wing for Meghan's mother.
Apart from calling the extravagant details of the story false, the lawsuit also went after another report published by the Mail, which claimed that Meghan spent $300,000 as high profile guests like Amal Clooney, Gayle King, and Misha Nonoo attended the event.
However, the lawsuit claimed that in reality, the shower "actually cost a tiny fraction" of the sum mentioned by the tabloid and "close friends", some of whom had known the Duchess "for over 20 years" attended the party.
A spokesman for the Mail told BBC that the company will defend itself "with vigor" and that "there is nothing in this document which changes that position".
While filing the lawsuits against the media houses last month, Prince Harry wrote in an open letter: "There is a human cost to this relentless propaganda, specifically when it is knowingly false and malicious."
"And though we have continued to put on a brave face – as so many of you can relate to – I cannot begin to describe how painful it has been. Because in today's digital age, press fabrications are repurposed as truth across the globe. One day's coverage is no longer tomorrow's chip paper," he added.
