Prince Harry’s privacy invasion lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers came to a sudden end on Wednesday before the trial even got underway, with the U.K. tabloid publisher offering both a settlement and an apology.
“[We offer a] full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators,” the settlement read, per The AP.
“NGN further apologizes to the duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years,” it continued. “We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages.”
That payment, according to People, is reportedly somewhere in the eight figures. The trial was set to begin Tuesday, but was delayed. Harry was not present in court on Wednesday.
In turn, Prince Harry shared a statement of his own through his attorney, David Sherborne: “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.”
Of the 1,300+ people who initially accused NGN’s papers of allegedly hacking their phones and other corrupt activity — including Hugh Grant — only Harry and another man remained on the case ahead of trial, as the others had all previously settled or backed down.
Furthermore, Sherborne accused NGN of crafting “an extensive conspiracy” in which “senior executives deliberately obstructed justice.” While they had admitted fault in the past by shuttering News of the World, this apology also places some blame on The Sun for decades of intrusion.
“At her trial in 2014, Rebekah Brooks said, ‘When I was editor of The Sun, we ran a clean ship,’” Harry’s statement noted. ”Now, 10 years later when she is CEO of the company, they now admit, when she was editor of The Sun, they ran a criminal enterprise.”
This update also comes more than a year after the royal won his similar lawsuit against British tabloid publisher Mirror Group Newspapers.
