Prince Harry has settled his legal action against the newspaper The Sun for “serious intrusion” on his private life with “substantial damages” to be paid to the Duke of Sussex. The exact number hasn’t been announced as of Wednesday afternoon.
The owner of The Sun offered Prince Harry a “full and unequivocal apology” and News Group Newspapers (NGN) has also issued an apology for intruding on his mother, the late Princess Diana’s private life.
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The case is settled
Wednesday 22 January was meant to be the first day of a 10-day trial in the High Court privacy invasion case claimed by Prince Harry against the newspaper publisher The Sun.
However, the Duke of Sussex has opted for settlement.
Substantial damages to be paid
NGN is said to pay “substantial damages” to the Duke of Sussex but the exact number has not been announced.
The prince has also received a rare apology from the newspaper group, who apologized for intruding on his personal life.
Lord Tom Watson also received an apology
Former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson was a second claimant in the case, and has also received an apology from The Sun for “unwarranted intrusion” on his private matters while he was in office.
Lord Watson says a “personal apology” to Prince Harry and The King is due from Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun and several other tabloids.
Prince Harry’s lawyer said this was a win
The Duke of Sussex’s lawyer, David Sherborne, calls this a “monumental victory.”
However, he still called for a police investigation into “the unlawful activity now finally admitted” and the “perjury and cover-ups” committed by The Sun.
A timeline of Prince Harry’s cases
Prince Harry has been involved in ongoing claims against several UK tabloids for six years, with him first launching claims against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group, the Mirror Group and Associated Newspapers in 2019.
The Duke of Sussex claimed news stories about his private life were obtained through illegal intrusion hiring private investigators to pry on him.
His wife had also cliamed a case
Prince Harry’s wife, Meghan Markle, had also claimed a case against Associated Newspapers in 2021 for publishing a private letter she had written to her father. She won this case the same year.
Two years later, the prince settles his case against The Mirror Group when it’s found that it had engaged in illegal phone hacking to obtain news stories.
The prince now settles another case
After a legal battle that started six years ago, the Duke of Sussex now settles claims against The Sun and NGN.
Many found the apology he received an unusual one, as nobody had really expected it, with Royal commentator Jennie Bond telling Sky News it was “pretty sensational.”
Other high profile figures had similar cases
Prince Harry isn’t the only high profile figure to raise claims against NGN or The Sun. In fact, more than 1,000 people have settled claims to end their legal action against the publisher in recent years.
Sky News Presenter Wilfred Frost said, “The Sun and NGN have already settled hundreds of claims totaling over £1bn.”
Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller are among them
Actors Hugh Grant and Sienna Miller are among many individuals who have raised claims against The Sun before settling them in court.
Claimants also include Singer Sir Elton John, actress Elizabeth Hurely, Ex-footballer Paul Gascoigne, and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm, among others.
Metropolitan Police responded to the case
Following the settlement of Prince Harry’s case, The Metropolitan Police has stated that there are currently no open investigations into phone hacking done by the newspaper group.
“It remains the case that there are no active police investigations into allegations of phone hacking or related matters. We await any correspondence from the parties involved, which we will respond to in due course,” said a Metropolitan Police spokesperson.
