Prince Harry: Sun publisher to pay 'substantial' damages in settlement
The settlement comes as a High Court trial was due to start over claims of unlawful intrusion into the royal's life.
51 minutes agoMallory Moench & Aleks Phillips
BBC News
Prince Harry has settled a legal case against the publisher of the Sun over claims of unlawful intrusion into his life after it agreed to pay "substantial damages" and offer an "unequivocal apology".
The Duke of Sussex alleged journalists and private investigators working for News Group Newspapers (NGN) used unlawful techniques to pry on his private life - and executives then allegedly covered it up.
NGN apologised for "serious intrusion" by the Sun between 1996 and 2011, and admitted "incidents of unlawful activity" were carried out by private investigators working for the newspaper, in a statement read out in court.
It also apologised for distress it caused Harry through the "extensive coverage" and "serious intrusion" into the private life of his late mother, Princess Diana.
The statement did not disclose how much the damages would be.
The settlement was announced after barrister David Sherborne, representing Harry, asked the judge to delay the start of the High Court trial on Tuesday, as the two sides were involved in potential settlement talks .
When he launched his claim, Prince Harry alleged that more than 200 articles published by NGN between 1996 and 2011 contained information gathered by illegal means.
He repeatedly said he wanted the case to go to trial so that he could get "accountability" for other alleged victims of unlawful newsgathering of private information by NGN journalists.
NGN was "surprised by the serious approach by Prince Harry for settlement in recent days", a source told the BBC.
A source close to the Duke of Sussex responded that the apology "provides all the insight you need".
Speaking outside court on behalf of Harry, Mr Sherborne described the settlement as a "monumental victory", and said NGN had been "finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law".
Labour's former deputy leader Lord Tom Watson was a second complainant in the case.
He alleged his phone was targeted around the time he was investigating newspapers owned by Rupert Murdoch while an MP, at the height of the scandal almost 15 years ago.
NGN also issued an apology to Lord Watson for intrusion into his private life by those working for the News of the World.
"This includes him being placed under surveillance in 2009 by journalists at the News of the World and those instructed by them," the court statement said, adding he would also be given substantial damages.
Read the full statement hereNGN has apologised for unlawful practices at the now-defunct News of the World, but previously denied similar claims against The Sun - as well as Prince Harry's wider allegation of a corporate-wide cover-up.
While it admitted no illegality, NGN acknowledged in its statement on Wednesday that its response to the arrests of News of the World staff who hacked royal phones and those of celebrities - and its subsequent actions - were "regrettable".
Journalist Clive Goodman and Glenn Mulcaire, a private investigator, were later jailed for intercepting voicemails on phones belonging to the princes' aides.
Harry was 12 when his mother, the Princess of Wales, was killed in a car crash in a Paris tunnel while being followed by paparazzi.
The prince has long been at odds with the tabloid press, which he said last year had been "central" to the breakdown of his relationship with the rest of the Royal Family .
The Duke and Duchess of Sussex said they were ending their co-operation with tabloid newspapers after stepping back from their royal duties in 2020 - and Harry has since filed other legal cases against British tabloids.
He settled a case last year against Mirror Group Newspapers (MGN) alleging the publishers had gathered information on him in unlawful ways from 1996 to 2010. MGN had to cover all of the duke's legal costs, and more than £300,000 in damages.
Media
UK Royal Family
High Court
Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex
The Royal Family and the media
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