Prince Harry loses legal battle against UK media over Instagram pics

The Duke of Sussex has lost out in a legal battle against the Mail on Sunday over a story that criticised the wildlife photos he posted on Instagram.

Harry had accused the paper of running an inaccurate headline: "Drugged and tethered ... what Harry didn't tell you about those awe-inspiring wildlife photos" along with an article about photos he'd posted of himself with an elephant.

He said a conservation organisation website explained how the elephants were tranquillised and tethered.

The Mail on Sunday headline said Harry's Instagram photo wasn't telling the whole story. Photo / Instagram

But the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO) didn't accept his complaint in a decision made this week.

"The complainant (Harry) said the article was inaccurate as it reported that … he had intentionally misled the public to give the impression that he was a superior wildlife photographer who had captured the images in dangerous circumstances," the IPSO said in its ruling.

The original photo showing that the elephant was tethered by it's back leg.

Behind the scenes: Another photo from the royal.uk website shows another angle of the elephant capture.

"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."

Harry, 35, has made complaints against several news outlets recently, as he continues to blame the media for his mother Diana's death and for harrassing Meghan.

This was a factor in the couple's recent decision to step down from their royal roles to spend more time in Canada.