Prince Harry has settled his historic case against Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids.
Having previously said he wanted to see his case over phone hacking and unlawful information gathering go to trial, the royal has now reached a settlement before an argument was even made in London’s High Court.
In a last minute deal made the day after the lawsuit was due to start, Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers agreed to pay “substantial damages” to Prince Harry and issued an apology, read by his lawyer David Sherborne, of the “serious intrusion by The Sun into his private life … including the unlawful gathering” of information on him.
NGN also apologized for phone hacking, and the impact this had on Harry, his friends and relationships, and the impact of it had on the private life of his late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales.
The royal’s lawsuit against NGN concerned alleged activities carried out by both journalists and private investigators working for The Sun and the now-defunct The News of the World from 1996 until 2011. Alongside phone hacking and unlawful information gathering, while the trial was also set to assess whether senior figures at the papers knew what was happening and withheld or even destroyed evidence. These claims will no longer be tested.
While in 2011 NGN apologized to victims of phone hacking that took place at The News of the World, which Murdoch shut down that year, it has — until now — never admitted to any of the claims made against The Sun, making the admittance and apology even more historic.
See the full apology below:
NGN offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.
NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World.
NGN further apologises to the Duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years.
We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages. It is also acknowledged, without any admission of illegality, that NGN’s response to the 2006 arrests and subsequent actions were regrettable.
