Prince Harry has settled his phone hacking case with Rupert Murdoch-owned News Group Newspapers.
After the court case began between the British royal and the media company at the UK’s High Court, there were suggestions that the Prince was to settle the case.
That has now been confirmed as Murdoch’s tabloids have made a rare apology to Harry by settling his privacy invasion lawsuit. News Group will pay Harry a substantial sum, his lawyer announced Wednesday.
News Group Newspapers offered 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,” attorney David Sherborne read from a settlement statement in court.
It was the first time News Group has acknowledged wrongdoing at The Sun, a paper once known for featuring topless women on Page 3.
News Group previously settled over 1,300 claims for its other publication the News of the World, which it was forced to close in 2011 over the phone hacking scandal.
The statement itself was remarkable in breadth, acknowledging “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators” aimed at Harry, allegations NGN had strongly denied before trial.
The statement even went beyond the scope of the lawsuit to acknowledge intruding on the life of his mother, the late Princess Diana.
A source has said the Prince believes “the apology provides all the insight you need” as to The Sun’s behaviour. While the apology is a remarkable admission from Murdoch’s organisation and means that the company has paid a large amount in both legal fees and to the Duke of Sussex, it also means they have avoided a trial uncovering the details of its cover-up.
Here’s is the apology letter in full:
“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.
NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to Lord Watson for the unwarranted intrusion carried out into his private life during his time in Government by the News of the World during the period 2009- 2011.
This includes him being placed under surveillance in 2009 by journalists at the News of the World and those instructed by them. NGN also acknowledges and apologises for the adverse impact this had on Lord Watson's family and has agreed to pay him substantial damages.
In addition, in 2011 News International received information that information was being passed covertly to Lord Watson from within News International. We now understand that this information was false, and Lord Watson was not in receipt of any such confidential information. NGN apologises fully and unequivocally for this.”
Why Harry went to court
During the 2000s, News of the World published multiple stories that could only be explained through hacked voicemails. One included a 2005 story that Prince Willian, Harry’s older brother, had a knee injury.
Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator working for News of the World was sentenced to six months in prison in 2007 for hacking the phones of members of the royal family.
The phone hacking scandal reached its zenith in 2011. After the British police reopened an investigation to the claims and through pressure from investigations in other press outlets, News of the World admitted to hacking phones.
News of the World agreed to multiple settlements to compensate people they had spied on. Former editors Andy Coulson and Rebekah Brooks went on trial in 2013. Coulson was sentenced to 18 months in prison. Brooks was acquitted and is now chief executive of Murdoch’s British newspaper business.
In 2019, Harry began his fight against the tabloids. He launched three lawsuits against the Mirror Group, News Group, and Associated Newspapers.
In 2023, after becoming the first British royal in a century to testify in a witness box, Harry won the first of these major court cases. He took the Daily Mirror to the High Court for hacking his phone, winning €165,000.
“Today is a great day for truth, as well as accountability,” Harry said in a statement read by his lawyer outside court. “I’ve been told that slaying dragons will get you burned. But in light of today’s victory and the importance of doing what is needed for a free and honest press, it is a worthwhile price to pay. The mission continues.”
All this litigation hasn’t been at no cost to Harry. Taking the tabloids to court was a move at odds with the royal family’s reserved approach to public action.
Harry revealed in court papers that his father opposed his litigation. He also said his older brother William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had received a “huge sum” to settle a complaint against News Group.
Harry said his tabloid war was central to his fallout with his family.
With the 2023 trial against The Mirror won, Harry could move onto the next two against News of the World and The Sun owned by News Group, and against the Daily Mail, owned by Associated Newspapers.
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