Prince Harry has withdrawn his defamation claim against the publisher of the Mail on Sunday, the BBC has reported.
The 39-year-old Duke of Sussex filed the lawsuit over an article about state-funded security measures for his visit to the UK after stepping down as a senior royal official.
In an article on the Daily Mail website, the paper said he had "withdrawn his case" hours before the court deadline.
The prince will pay the publisher's legal costs of 250,000 pounds.
The Mail on Sunday article, published in February 2022, reported the prince's legal challenge against the Home Office over changes to his publicly funded security that came after he ceased to be an active royal employee and has moved to the US.
After the claim was withdrawn, a spokesman for Sussex said the Duke had instead focused on the safety of his family and his legal case against the Home Office.
"His focus remains there and on the safety of his family, not on these legal proceedings which give a continuing platform to the Mail on Sunday's false claims from all those years ago," the spokesman said.
The Daily Mail claimed the Duke could face costs of up to £750,000, but a Sussex spokesman said costs had not yet been determined and it was "premature" to speculate.
The defamation case, which has now been withdrawn, is separate from the prince's whistleblower claims against Associated Newspapers, which are yet to be heard in court.
Prince Harry recently won compensation from the publisher of the Daily Mirror over allegations of phone fraud.
In his long-running libel suit against Associated Newspapers, the prince claimed the article falsely suggested he "lied" and "cynically" tried to manipulate public opinion.
The headline said the Duke had "tried to keep his legal battle with the government over police bodyguards private", and his lawyers claimed the article was "an attack on his honesty and integrity".
The publisher disputed this claim, saying the article expressed "honest opinion" and had not caused "serious damage" to his reputation.
Before the case was dropped, a three-day court hearing was scheduled to take place between May 17 and July 31 this year.
Last month, Prince Harry lost part of the legal battle after his lawyers failed to persuade a judge to dismiss part of Associated Newspapers' defense.
Judge Nicklin said the newspaper group's argument that the article was "honest opinion" had a "real prospect" of success.
In recent years, Prince Harry has been involved in a number of lawsuits, most of which have not yet been resolved./BGNES
