Prince Harry has filed a legal complaint against a newspaper that said he canceled a charity fundraiser because of his Netflix deal

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Prince Harry has filed a legal complaint against a newspaper that said he canceled a charity fundraiser because of his Netflix deal
Meghan Markle and Prince Harry leave an event at London's Canada House in January 2020, shortly before announcing their intention to step down as senior royals.Chris Jackson/Getty Images
  • The Duke of Sussex has filed a legal complaint against The Sunday Times after the newspaper suggested his new deal with Netflix caused him to cancel a charity fundraiser.
  • The duke's fundraiser for The Invictus Games was due to be streamed on Amazon, but the publication reported that it was canceled due to a conflict over "the planned deal with a rival streaming service."
  • However, a spokesperson for the Invictus Games said the cancelation of the event was an "independent decision made prior to a partnership with Netflix."
  • Representatives for The Sunday Times did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this article.
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The Duke of Sussex has sent a legal letter to The Sunday Times after the newspaper reported that he canceled a charity fundraiser because of his new deal with Netflix, a spokesperson for the royal confirmed to Insider.

Prince Harry was due to host a fundraiser for The Invictus Games, a sporting contest for wounded and injured service personnel that he founded in 2014.

The Duke and Duchess of Sussex were scheduled to make speeches at the event, which was to take place in California next June and be streamed on Amazon, The Sunday Times reported.

The article went on to suggest the event was canceled "abruptly after their Netflix deal" due to a conflict over the streaming service.

"Officials at the foundation, of which Harry is patron, were 'stunned' after a lawyer for the Sussexes contacted them shortly before the Netflix deal was announced last week, pulling the plug on the project, citing a 'conflict' over a planned deal with a rival streaming service," The Sunday Times' royal correspondent Roya Nikkhah wrote.

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Harry and Meghan Markle have signed on to create documentaries, docu-series, scripted television, and family programming for the streaming service.

However, an Invictus Games spokesperson said the Netflix deal has nothing to do with the cancelation of the fundraiser.

"The event was shelved because the primary revenue generator was ticket sales from a live concert in Los Angeles in the Spring of 2021," the spokesperson said in a statement obtained by Insider.

"Given current global circumstances with COVID, the event needed to be reconceptualized.

"This was an independent decision made prior to a partnership with Netflix. The Duke remains committed as ever to the Invictus Games, which he founded, and the Invictus Games Foundation of which he is Patron, and looks forward to making the Invictus Games, The Hague 2020 a huge success, as they have always been," they added.

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The Sunday Times confirmed that the article is subject to a legal complaint. However, the newspaper did not immediately respond to Insider's request for comment for this article.

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The Queen is transforming her Sandringham residence into a drive-in movie theater

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