Prince Harry's complaint about article rejected by U.K. press regulator

Prince Harry’s complaint that a British newspaper wrote an inaccurate article about wildlife pictures posted to his Instagram account has been dismissed by a newspaper industry regulator.

In a story with the headline "Drugged and tethered ... what Harry didn't tell you about those awe-inspiring wildlife photos,” The Mail on Sunday wrote that the "spectacular photographs of African wildlife" which had been posted to highlight Earth Day, did not “quite tell the full story.”

The article published Apr. 28, 2019, added that the images posted to the Sussexroyal Instagram account had "notably avoided explaining the circumstances in which the images were taken.”

The animals had been tranquilized and the elephant had also been tethered as the wildlife was being relocated as part of conservation projects, and the newspaper noted that the photos didn't show a rope around the hind legs of the elephant because of the way the picture had been edited.

The Duke of Sussex subsequently complained to the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) that the tabloid had breached the accuracy clause of its Editors' Code of Practice.

But in a decision published Thursday, IPSO said the pictures featured in the Instagram post “had previously been published, unedited, in 2016.”

It said that Harry’s “preference to have a border around his photos was a presentational choice and not a formatting requirement; to suggest otherwise was disingenuous."

It added: “In these circumstances, the Committee did not consider that it was significantly misleading to report that the photographs posted on the complainant’s Instagram account did not quite tell the full story and that the complainant had not explained the circumstances in which the photographs had been taken.”

The move is the latest blow for Harry who has a troubled relationship with the British media, which he has criticized in the past and accused of bullying his wife Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex.

Meghan filed a separate legal action against The Mail on Sunday newspaper in October alleging that the newspaper misused private information, infringed on copyright and breached the U.K.’s Data Protection Act when it published parts of a letter she sent to her father, Thomas Markle.

Legal documents submitted by the newspaper to London’s High Court earlier this month suggested that Meghan’s father could testify against her, although no date has been set for the trial.

Harry and Meghan have started a new life in Canada after announcing their intent to step back from their roles earlier this month.

The prince, a grandson of Queen Elizabeth II and sixth in line to the throne, arrived on Vancouver Island last week after he left the United Kingdom to join his wife and their son. Meghan and 8-month-old Archie have been staying on the island since she left the U.K.