Prince Harry Surprises Fans with Legal Case Settlement Against British Tabloid
In a surprising turn of events, Prince Harry has settled a legal case against a UK publisher, ending his ongoing battle over allegations of unlawful intrusion into his private life.
Previously, the Duke of Sussex had been steadfast in his refusal to settle, emphasizing that his pursuit of the case was driven by a need for accountability. "One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person who can actually achieve that," he had stated.
Prince Harry accused journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN) of using illegal methods to access his private information. He further claimed that the executives at NGN were involved in a cover-up of these practices.
The settlement was revealed after Prince Harry’s barrister, David Sherborne, requested a delay in the start of the High Court trial. Speculation had been circulating that both sides were engaged in settlement talks, which ultimately led to the case being resolved before reaching trial.
In prior court filings, it was disclosed that Prince Harry’s brother, Prince William, had settled his own legal case against NGN in 2020, reportedly for a substantial sum of money.
NGN has apologized for unlawful activities conducted by the now-defunct *News of the World* but denied similar practices related to *The Sun*. Prince Harry's broader claims of a corporate-wide cover-up have also been contested.
Reports indicate that NGN has paid out hundreds of millions of pounds to victims of phone-hacking and other illegal methods of information gathering. More than 1,300 lawsuits have been settled, involving celebrities, politicians, sports figures, and ordinary individuals linked to them.
When Prince Harry first filed his claim, he alleged that over 200 articles published by NGN between 1996 and 2011 included information obtained through illegal methods. He had previously expressed his desire for the case to go to trial in order to bring accountability for others who were also victims of unlawful information gathering by NGN journalists.
In addition to his legal victory against NGN, Prince Harry also settled a case last year against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN), claiming unlawful information gathering from 1996 to 2010. As part of that settlement, MGN covered the Duke’s legal costs and paid more than £300,000 in damages.
