Judge rules against Prince Harry in early stage of libel case against Daily Mail publisher

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry has lost a preliminary round in his libel case against the publisher of the Daily Mail tabloid for a story that said he tried to hide his efforts to retain publicly funded protection in the U.K. after giving up his status as a working member of the royal family. A London judge on Friday said the Duke of Sussex had failed to knock out Associated Newspaper Ltd’s defense that its article reflected an honest opinion. Justice Matthew Nicklin said it was not fanciful to suggest the paper’s argument had a reasonable chance of success. The judge scheduled a hearing Tuesday in the High Court to discuss the consequences of the ruling.