Prince Harry has achieved a significant victory in his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids. These tabloids have issued unprecedented apologies for their privacy breaches over the past decades and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle privacy infringement claims. News Group Newspapers offered a "full and unreserved apology" to the Duke of Sussex, acknowledging that _The Sun_ had severely intruded on his private life between 1996 and 2011, including illegal activities conducted by private investigators. The settlement statement was read out in court by lawyer David Sherborne.
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02-13, 2025The statement on Wednesday morning (Wednesday evening AEST) went even further than the lawsuit, acknowledging intrusions into the life of his late mother, Princess Diana. This marks the first time News Group Newspapers has admitted wrongdoing by _The Sun_, a paper once known for publishing topless women on its Page 3. Harry had vowed to take the case to trial to publicly expose the paper's wrongdoing and win a court endorsement of his claims. However, under British law, he would have faced massive legal fees even if he had won, and his lawyers stated that he had achieved the accountability he sought for himself and hundreds of others, including ordinary people.
News Group admitted to “phone hacking, surveillance and the misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators against Harry.” News Group had previously strongly denied the allegations ahead of trial. “This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were forced to settle without knowing the truth,” Sherborne said outside the High Court in London. The settlement statement said, “We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the Duke and the damage to relationships, friendships, and family and agree to pay him substantial damages.”
The bombshell news was delivered in court as the Duke of Sussex’s trial was about to begin. Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, and one other man were the only two remaining of more than 1300 claimants who had launched action against News Group Newspapers. The suits alleged their phones were hacked and investigators illegally intruded into their lives. Sherborne said the company had engaged in “perjury and cover-up” for years to hide the truth. “There was a widespread conspiracy,” he said, “with senior executives deliberately obstructing the course of justice.”
Harry’s case was the closest to trial of all those brought against the publisher since a massive phone-hacking scandal forced Murdoch to close the _News of the World_ in 2011. Murdoch shut down _News of the World_ after _The Guardian_ reported the tabloid’s journalists had hacked the phone of murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl Milly Dowler in 2002 while police were searching for her. As his case was about to begin on Tuesday morning, his lawyers requested a one-hour adjournment, then a longer one, and finally a full day, as it became clear a settlement was being negotiated.
The case is one of three lawsuits Harry has brought alleging British tabloids illegally helped them get exclusives by hacking phone messages or using private investigators. His case against the publisher of the _Daily Mirror_ ended in victory, with a judge ruling that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at the paper and its sister publications. In the 2023 trial, Harry became the first senior royal to give evidence in court since the late 19th century, flying in the face of the royal family’s desire to keep issues out of the public eye.
His hatred of the media goes back to his youth when tabloids were happy to report on everything from his injuries to girlfriends to drug use. But his anger at the tabloids runs much deeper. He blames the media for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who died in a car crash in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by paparazzi. He also blames them for the constant attacks on his wife, Meghan Markle, which led to them leaving royal life and fleeing to the US in 2020.
Harry has said in the documentary, _Tabloids On Trial_, that the litigation has been a source of family friction. He revealed in court documents that his father had opposed his legal action. He also said that his brother, Prince William, the Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had reached a private settlement with News Group that his lawyers said was worth more than £1 million ($1.97 million). “I’m doing this for my own reasons,” Harry told the producers in the documentary, although he said he wished his family would join him.
Harry was initially one of dozens of claimants, including actor Hugh Grant, who claimed News Group journalists and investigators they employed had invaded their privacy by intercepting voicemails, hacking phones, bugging cars, and using deception to obtain confidential information between 1994 and 2016. Of the original group, Harry and former Labour MP Tom Watson were the hardliners who insisted on going to trial. News Group denied the allegations.
News Group has issued unreserved apologies to the victims of voicemail interception at _News of the World_ and said it has settled more than 1300 claims. _The Sun_ has never admitted liability. The outcome of the News Group case raises questions about how Harry’s third case – against the publisher of the _Daily Mail_ – will proceed. That trial is set for next year.
