The Duke of Sussex did not fly over to the UK from his Montecito home to appear at the High Court.
Prince Harry given ‘unequivocal’ apology by The Sun publisher
Prince Harry is set to be paid an eye-watering amount of damages by the publisher of The Sun after settling his recent privacy intrusion lawsuit.
The Duke of Sussex, 40, has sued News Group Newspapers (NGN) for privacy intrusions throughout his life after agreeing on a settlement just as a trial was set to begin at the High Court, with hearings yesterday having been delayed to allow both parties to carry out negotiations.
Harry has been awarded a “substantial” sum of damages, with some reports stating this will be eight figures. Lawyers are not expected to reveal what the exact amount will be.
Chris Ship, Royal Editor at ITV News wrote on X: “Just been told News Group Newspapers have paid Prince Harry and EIGHT figure sum in damages.” He later added: “The damages awarded by NGN to Prince Harry are between £10 and £20 million, according to a well-placed source.”
The prince has received an apology from NGN “for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them” at The Sun.
Prince Harry has agreed to a settlement (Image: Rasid Necati Aslim/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
NGN also apologised to the prince for the impact the “extensive coverage and serious intrusion” into his private life caused for him and his late mother Princess Diana.
NGN said: “We acknowledge and apologise for the distress caused to the Duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages.”
The settlement deal means that Harry will not be able to seek a court ruling validating his allegations that News Group Newspapers’ journalists went to illegal extremes to dig up dirt on his life and that executives at the company helped cover up the bad acts.
The announcement in London’s High Court came despite the Duke of Sussex’s vow that he was the one person who could hold the publishers of The Sun and now-defunct News of the World accountable at trial for unlawful information gathering.
“One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that,” he told The New York Times Dealbook Summit in December when he said he wouldn’t settle.
