He and his legal team reached a last-minute deal with Rupert Murdoch’s British newspaper group on Wednesday over allegations he “invaded” the prince’s private life.
Notably, the prince received a “full apology”, however, he failed to fulfill his mission of holding British tabloids accountable in open court.
Along with former lawmaker Tom Watson, 40-year-old Harry, the youngest son of King Charles III, had sued NGN over alleged illegal activities carried out by journalists and private investigators working for the papers.
The group, which had long denied the allegations, expressed what it called a “full and unequivocal apology” to the prince.
Barrister David Sherborne along with former Labor Deputy Leader Tom Watson join the media outside the Rolls Building of the High Court
What does the settlement include?
In the UK court system, the settlement often involves the defendant covering the plaintiff’s legal costs, as well as paying an additional cash payment. NGN further said it regretted the invasion of the privacy of Harry’s late mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, and apologized to Harry “for the wiretapping, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators who they were mandated by the News of the World.” In her statement she further underlined that “we have agreed to pay him substantial compensation”.
Harry first sued NGN in 2019 and the eight-week trial was due to start on Tuesday. The prince was expected to testify for several days next month. But in a surprise twist – that angered Judge Timothy Fancourt – both sides on Tuesday asked for more time to reach a deal.
When Fancourt refused to allow a further adjournment until Wednesday, lawyers for both sides said they would appeal to the Court of Appeal to challenge his decision, delaying the start of the trial.
Ahead of the trial, Sherborne claimed the newspapers used deception to obtain his clients’ medical, telephone and airline records, as well as bugging homes and bugging cars. He also claimed that executives destroyed documents and used other methods to cover up the fraud.
