The Duke of Sussex has filed a High Court complaint against Associated Newspapers Ltd (ANL) for a 2022 article on a legal fight over his UK security arrangements.

According to the prince, the narrative incorrectly implied that he had “lied” and “cynically” attempted to manipulate public opinion.

However, the judge stated that ANL’s honest opinion defense had “a real prospect of success and should proceed to trial.”

The decision on Friday comes in the same week that the Duke of Cambridge filed a separate High Court appeal against the Home Office about his security protection when visiting the UK.

His attorneys are attempting to overturn a verdict that reduced his security status after he ceased to be a “working royal.”

The libel lawsuit revolves around an article that said the prince tried to “mislead and confuse the public” over the issue with the government, according to the judge.

The duke “tried to keep his legal fight with the government over police bodyguards a secret,” according to the headline, but his “PR machine tried to put a positive spin on the dispute” after the story surfaced.

The duke has maintained that he only promised to pay for his protection after legal procedures began in 2021, claiming that he made the offer at a meeting in Sandringham the previous year.

According to the Mail on Sunday, the Sandringham offer was not given to the government, and the duke only made an offer to the government after he had begun his judicial review challenge.

In his ruling on Friday, Mr Justice Nicklin said: “The Defendant [ANL] has a real prospect, at trial, of demonstrating that the Duke of Sussex had not made an offer to the Government to pay for his security before he began his proceedings for judicial review.”