LONDON — Prince Harry celebrated a significant win on Wednesday when Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids issued a rare apology for their extensive invasion of his privacy and agreed to pay a considerable sum to resolve his lawsuit.
News Group Newspapers expressed 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,” a statement from Harry’s lawyer, David Sherborne, revealed in court.
Notably, the apology extended beyond Harry to acknowledge the violations concerning his late mother, Princess Diana, and the negative impact on his family.
“We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships, and family, and we have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the statement further affirmed.

Harry’s allegations involved extensive intrusions, including phone hacking and surveillance. It marked the first instance where News Group admitted to misconduct surrounding The Sun, a tabloid notorious for its sensationalist content, including celebrity gossip and controversial imagery.
Harry had expressed his determination to take the matter to trial, aiming to expose the newspaper’s malpractices publically and secure a ruling in his favor.
In a statement relayed by his lawyer, he emphasized that his victory also represented accountability for many individuals who had been similarly affected.
News Group conceded to “phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators” relating to Harry, despite previously denying these allegations before the trial.
Sherborne commented outside the London High Court that this outcome vindicated many claimants who had been coerced into settlements without discovering the truth.

The announcement came after a brief delay for trial preparation as last-minute settlement discussions accelerated.
Harry, who is 40 years old and the younger son of King Charles III, along with former Labour Party MP Tom Watson, were the last two claimants from a larger group of over 1,300 individuals who had settled their cases against News Group for phone hacking and other privacy violations.
Harry and Watson’s joint statement alleged that News Group engaged in “perjury and cover-ups” for years, even claiming that 30 million emails and other evidence were erased.
“There was an extensive conspiracy in which senior executives deliberately obstructed justice,” the statement declared.
However, News Group stated that it would have contested in court the claims of destroyed evidence and continues to deny such allegations.

While the company previously acknowledged wrongdoing at the now-defunct News of the World, it had always rejected similar claims related to The Sun.
During the statement made by Harry’s lawyer, criticism was directed at Rebekah Brooks, the current CEO of News Group, who was the editor of The Sun during the time when she was found not guilty in a phone hacking case.
“At her trial in 2014, Rebekah Brooks said, ‘When I was editor of The Sun, we ran a clean ship,’” Sherborne noted. “Ten years later, when she is CEO, they now admit that during her editorship, they were running a criminal enterprise.”

The apologetic statement extended to the actions of private investigators hired by The Sun but stopped short of addressing the responsibilities of the journalists involved.
When looking at the broader context of the lawsuits against the publisher, this case involving Harry was poised to reach trial more than any other since the widespread phone tapping scandal led to the closure of News of the World in 2011.
Murdoch’s decision followed revelations that reporters from the paper had illegally accessed the voicemail of Milly Dowler, a murdered schoolgirl, as law enforcement sought her.
Harry’s lawsuit against News Group Newspapers is one of three that he has opened up against British tabloids, alleging privacy invasions through eavesdropping on messages and using private investigators for unethical reporting.
His case against the Daily Mirror also ended in a favorable ruling, where a judge declared phone hacking as “widespread and habitual” among its papers.
During the hearing earlier this year, Harry notably became the first senior royal to appear as a witness in court in over a century.

The resolution of the News Group lawsuit casts doubt on how the upcoming case against the Daily Mail, scheduled for next year, will unfold.
The conflict between Harry and the media has historical roots, tracing back to his childhood when tabloids intensely covered every detail of his life, from personal injuries to romantic relationships.
However, the depth of his resentment is tied to his profound loss; he holds the media responsible for the tragic death of his mother, who died in 1997 while pursued by photographers.
Additionally, he has cited the tabloids’ relentless criticism of his wife, Meghan Markle, as a driving factor behind their departure from royal duties and their relocation to the United States in 2020.
The legal battles have created family strife, with Harry disclosing in the documentary “Tabloids On Trial” that his father disapproved of the lawsuit and that his brother, Prince William, had previously resolved a separate complaint against News Group.

Harry began this litigation journey alongside numerous other claimants, including actor Hugh Grant, who accused News Group of breaching their privacy through various means from 1994 to 2016.
Ultimately, Harry and Watson remained the final claimants proceeding to trial.
Watson, who had faced similar intrusions while investigating tabloid practices, acknowledged the significant toll it took on him and his family.
“I once said that the big beasts of the tabloid jungle have no predators. I was wrong; they have Prince Harry,” Watson commented, expressing gratitude for Harry’s steadfast resolve.
Watson, who also received an apology and settlement, urged Murdoch to extend a personal apology to Harry, the king, and others impacted by tabloid misconduct.
The settlements reached signify a close to a prolonged period of litigation since the closure of the News of the World.
To date, more than 1,300 claims have been settled without reaching a trial, costing News Group over 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion) in legal expenses and settlements, according to Harry and Watson’s statements.