Top line
Prince Harry has reached a settlement with the publisher of Rupert Murdoch-owned tabloid The Sun, his lawyer said Wednesday, ending a long-running legal battle that the British royal previously insisted should go to trial to ensure the “responsibility” of other alleged victims of hacking and surveillance by the news agency.
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, speaks at the New York Times Annual DealBook Summit at Jazz at … (+)
Key facts
In a press statement, Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, said the Sun’s publisher had agreed to pay “substantial damages” for unlawful intrusion into his personal life and hacking of his phone.
The settlement involves an eight-figure sum that largely covers legal fees, Reuters reported – and while it’s not a huge settlement by U.S. standards, it is a “sum staggering” in the United Kingdom, notes NPR media correspondent David Folkenflik.
The publisher agreed to issue a “full and unequivocal apology” to Harry for “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators commissioned by them.”
The publisher said it further apologized to the Duke of Sussex for the “distress caused to him” and “the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family”.
The publisher’s apology also mentions the impact of the “extensive media coverage and serious intrusion” into his privacy and the privacy of his late mother, Princess Diana.
The settlement announcement comes a day after Sherborne asked the judge in the case to delay the start of the trial.
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Crucial quote
Harry’s lawyer told reporters: “Today the lies are exposed. Today, the cover-ups are revealed. And this proves today that no one is above the law. The time for accountability has arrived.
Tangent
Sherborne also harshly criticized News Group Newspapers and said its senior executives had obstructed justice by deleting “more than 30 million emails”, making “false denials”, lying under oath in court and during testimony in Parliament. The king’s lawyer urged the British Parliament to investigate “not only the illegal activity, now finally admitted, but also the perjury and cover-ups that took place along the way.”
Key context
Harry and his wife Meghan Markle have spoken out in recent years against British tabloids’ coverage of their private lives, accusing newspapers of publishing “distorted, false or invasive” stories. The case against News Group Newspaper is one of several lawsuits brought by the Duke of Sussex against the tabloids, with varying results. In 2023, the publisher of the Daily Mirror was ordered by a British court to pay Harry £140,600 ($173,000) in damages for the hacking of his cell phones. The court found that at least 15 articles published by the outlet were based on information derived from phone hacking or “other illegal information collection.” Last year, the Mirror Group agreed to pay Harry a further £400,000 ($494,000) to settle his other claims against the publisher. As well as the Mirror Group and NGN, Harry has also taken legal action against the Daily Mail’s publisher, Associated Newspapers. In February 2022, he filed a defamation action after the Mail published an article claiming that the Duke of Sussex had lied about his willingness to pay for police protection for himself and his family while in the United Kingdom. United, Harry eventually dropped the suit after an unfavorable court ruling last year. , which ordered him to pay the tabloid £50,000 ($61,700) in legal costs. Harry, however, is also part of a much larger lawsuit against Associated Newspapers alongside Elton John and other high-profile British public figures. The lawsuit accuses the Mail’s publisher of using illegal means to obtain information about celebrities.
Surprising fact
William Lewis, a former executive at Murdoch’s British media company and now CEO and publisher of the Washington Post, would likely have been a key figure in the trial, although he was not charged in the case and has denied all wrongdoing. Last July, Harry’s lawyers submitted a statement claiming that Lewis “fabricated a false security threat” in 2011 as a way to delete scandal-related emails as part of a broader cover-up, NPR reported.
Further reading
Prince Harry to receive $500,000 settlement for phone hacking by tabloid (Forbes)
Prince Harry and Elton John’s lawsuit against Daily Mail to go to trial, court rules (Forbes)
