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The Sun publisher ready to pay ‘substantial damages’ to Prince Harry for…

Jan 23, 2025 10:25 AM IST

The Sun publisher agreed to pay substantial damages and apologized to Prince Harry, settling a legal dispute over unlawful intrusion into his private life.

The Sun newspaper has agreed to pay “substantial damages” and issued an apology to Prince Harry, to settle a prolonged legal dispute over allegations of unlawful “serious intrusion” into his private life.

Prince Harry alleged over 200 articles were published using illegal methods by News Group Newspapers, seeking accountability for past victims of unlawful newsgathering. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP)(AFP)
Prince Harry alleged over 200 articles were published using illegal methods by News Group Newspapers, seeking accountability for past victims of unlawful newsgathering. (Photo by Daniel LEAL / AFP)(AFP)

The Duke accused journalists and private investigators employed by News Group Newspapers (NGN) of using illegal methods like tapping his phone and bugging his car to access his personal information, followed by an alleged cover-up by executives.

NGN acknowledged “serious intrusion” by the Sun between 1996 and 2011 and admitted “incidents of unlawful activity” carried out by private investigators, as detailed in court documents. The company also apologized for the distress caused to Harry through “extensive coverage” and “serious intrusion” into the private life of his late mother, Princess Diana.

ALSO READ| Prince Harry agrees to settle lawsuit accusing Rupert Murdoch's UK group of ‘surveillance’

Harry, who was 12 years old when his mother died in a car crash in Paris while being pursued by paparazzi, has previously suggested tabloid newspapers played a role in her death. Last year, he claimed how tabloid papers forced him away from his Royal family.

Harry settles legal dispute with Mirror Group Newspapers too

The Duke of Sussex resolved his legal dispute with Mirror Group Newspapers after evidence showed they obtained private details illegally between 1996 and 2010.

The settlements with Prince Harry and former Labour deputy leader Lord Tom Watson have cost NGN over £10 million in payouts and legal fees. Overall, the publisher has spent upwards of £1 billion in damages and costs related to claims of phone hacking and privacy violations by the News of the World and the Sun.

Prince Harry alleged that more than 200 articles published by NGN between 1996 and 2011 contained information obtained through illegal means. He wanted the case to go to trial to achieve “accountability” for other victims of unlawful newsgathering.

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However, according to a source quoted by the BBC, NGN was “surprised by Prince Harry's serious approach to settlement in recent days.” Prince Harry remarked that the apology “provides all the insight you need.”

Speaking on behalf of Prince Harry, his barrister David Sherborne described the settlement as a “monumental victory,” asserting that NGN had been “finally held to account for its illegal actions and blatant disregard for the law.”

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