Prince Harry’s lawyer announced on Wednesday that he had reached a settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers over allegations of illegal data collection – the dramatic, unexpected end to a lawsuit that Harry made as a last chance to hold the tabloids accountable for years of misconduct.
News Group Newspapers offered Harry a “full and unequivocal” apology for hacking his mobile phone and intruding on his life, and admitted to “unlawful” conduct by private investigators employed by one of the papers, The Sun.
The company also apologized for the past intrusion of journalists into the private life of Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 while being followed by photographers.
“We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage caused to relationships, friendships and family, and we have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the apology said, referring to Harry using his alternate title, Duke of Sussex. .
The settlement, announced the day before the long-awaited trial, shielded News Group Newspapers from weeks of damaging evidence about wiretapping and other illegal methods used more than a decade ago to extract information about Harry and other high-profile people. . It also protected Harry, 40, the youngest son of King Charles III, from major financial risk, regardless of how he performed at court. Under English law, Harry would have been required to pay both parties’ legal costs if the court had not awarded him an amount equal to what News Group Newspapers offered him in the settlement.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
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