Prince Harry’s complaint against the Mail on Sunday regarding an article criticizing his wildlife photos did not succeed. The Duke of Sussex had shared a photo he took with an elephant on Earth Day on the Sussex Royal Instagram page. Subsequently, the Mail on Sunday published an article titled “Drugged and tethered… what Harry didn’t tell you about those awe-inspiring wildlife photos.”
The article showed a fuller picture of the elephant, revealing it was tethered. It claimed that the “pictures … don’t quite tell the full story” and suggested Harry had not been forthcoming about the circumstances in which the images were taken. The animals had been tranquillized and the elephant had been tethered as part of conservation projects.
The newspaper reported that Harry’s Sussexroyal Instagram followers were unable to see a rope around the elephant’s hind legs due to the way the picture was edited.
In response to the article, Harry complained to the Independent Press Standards Organization (IPSO) about its inaccuracy, alleging it implied he had deliberately misled the public by cropping the elephant picture. He argued that the full uncropped photograph had been publicly available on the Royal Family website since 2016 and was also featured on the conservation organization’s website, with a description and video of the tranquilizing and tethering process. His Instagram post had also linked back to the website.
However, the Independent Press Standards Organisation ruled that there was no breach of the code, stating, “The Committee considered that it was not clear from the images themselves that the animals had been tranquilized and tethered.”
They added that the article focused on Harry’s publicly available Instagram posts and the information they displayed, and therefore it wasn’t necessary for the newspaper to contact him for comment. As a result, they concluded that there was no failure to take care not to publish inaccurate information.
Following this incident, both Harry and Meghan announced legal action against the press. Meghan Markle is suing the Mail on Sunday over the publication of her private letters to her father, Thomas Markle. Prince Harry also announced legal action against the owners of the Sun, the defunct News of the World, and the Daily Mirror, in relation to alleged phone-hacking.