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Prince Harry claims “monumental victory” in legal battle against tabloids

The Duke of Sussex first launched his legal action in 2019.
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Prince Harry has settled his High Court claim against the publisher of The Sun, News Group Newspapers (NGN) after a five-year legal battle.

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The Duke of Sussex accused the media group of unlawful information-gathering, accusing them of phone hacking, surveillance, and misuse of private information.

Initially, the royal was due to arrive back in the UK this week to continue the trial, however, a last-minute delay occurred amidst discussions of a possible settlement which has since come to fruition.

Speaking with the media on January 22nd, Prince Harry’s barrister David Sherborne revealed that both parties had “reached an agreement” and that along with an apology to the Duke, NGN would pay “substantial damages” to the royal.

It is believed that the Duke will be awarded almost $20m AUD.

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prince harry at the phone hacking trial
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, arrives to give evidence at the London High Court in June 2023 against Mirror Group Newspapers. (Credit: Getty)

In a statement read on his behalf by David Sherborne outside the court, the father-of-two described his court win as a “monumental victory.”

“In a monumental victory today, News UK has admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch’s UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices.”

“This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling, without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them.”

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“After endless resistance, denials, and legal battles by News Group Newspapers, including spending more than a billion pounds in payouts and legal costs, as well as paying off those in the know to prevent the full picture from coming out, News UK is finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law.”

The statement concluded: “Today the lies are laid bare. Today the cover-ups are exposed, and today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived. Thank you very much.”

The trial was set to continue on January 23rd and run for 10 weeks. Prince Harry was due to testify in February.

prince harry and prince william
Prince William and Prince Harry at the State Funeral of Queen Elizabeth II at Westminster Abbey. (Credit: Getty)
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Which papers was Prince Harry suing and why?

The Duke of Sussex and claimant Tom Watson, who is a former Labour MP, were suing NGN because of alleged unlawful activities carried out from 1996 to 2011.

The papers are owned by Rupert Murdoch.

They alleged unlawful activities, such as phone-hacking, were conducted by journalists and private investigators working for its papers The Sun and News of the World, which is now defunct.

Their lawyer alleged the newspapers had a widespread practice of using deception to obtain personal materials, bugged homes, and put listening devices in cars.

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prince harry and meghan markle
Meghan Markle won an invasion of privacy lawsuit against Associated Newspapers in February 2021 after they published a letter she wrote to her estranged father in 2018. (Credit: Getty)

NGN denied any unlawful activity was undertaken at The Sun.

A phone-hacking scandal forced Murdoch to shut News of the World in 2011.

Speaking to the New York Times at its DealBook summit in December 2024, Harry said the trial was about seeking the truth.

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“One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability because I am the last person that can actually achieve that,” he said.

The Duke’s legal team said in previous court documents that Prince William settled his own case in 1010 against NGN for “a very large sum of money”.

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