Prince Harry Settles Sun Hacking Case; Tabloid apologizes for harassing Princess Diana

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Prince Harry's years-long legal battle against media baron Rupert Murdoch has come to an end.

And the Duke of Sussex has won a victory that could forever change the way tabloids do business around the world.

In 2019, Harry filed a lawsuit against Murdoch's News Group, which owns newspapers. The Sun and the now disappeared World News.

The suit alleged that the newspapers hacked Harry's personal devices and hired private investigators to engage in “illegal” acts of information gathering.

Harry's Big Victory

Now, in a move that stunned industry experts, NGN reached an out-of-court settlement, paying both a “substantial” payment and a public apology to Harry and his loved ones.

By CNNHarry's lawyer, David Sherborne, today released a statement revealing that NGN “completely and unequivocally apologizes to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion of The Sun between 1996 and 2011 in his private life, including incidents of illegal activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun.”

Sherborne added that NGN had specifically apologized “for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators commissioned by them at the time.” World News.”

According to CNN, Sherborne revealed that NGN also apologized for its “intrusion” into the life of Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.

The group also took responsibility for “damage to relationships, friendships and family” and “agreed to pay him substantial damages.”

The trial was scheduled to begin Tuesday, but lawyers for both sides asked for more time to find a compromise.

No exact settlement figures have been revealed, but CNN reports that the deal “involved an eight-figure sum” and notes that “a source involved in the deal did not refute that figure when asked request “.

NGN has already settled 1,300 other claims related to voicemail interception, paying out an estimated $1.2 billion in settlements.

Harry has long been a campaigner against irresponsible and overly invasive tabloid journalism.

While we're sure today's cash settlement is a nice bonus, Harry is probably most proud of the apology to his mother, who was killed while fleeing the paparazzi in 1997.

Unfortunately, Harry will likely continue to fear for his family's safety until certain intrusive tabloid techniques are banned. But at least today's regulations send the message that certain practices will no longer be tolerated.