LondonPrince Harryand his legal team thrashed out a last-minute deal withRupert Murdoch sBritish newspaper group on Wednesday to settle claims of widespread wrongdoing at the publisher. A “full apology” was given to the prince, but he failed to fulfill his lifelong goal of holding British tabloids accountable in public.
The Duke of Sussex s decision to settle his claims against News Group Newspapers (NGN) ends the prince’s effort expose the publisher of The Sun and long-shuttered News of the World, and expose their misdeeds in open trial.
With former lawmaker Tom Watson, Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, had sued the company over alleged unlawful activities carried out by journalists and private investigators working for the newspapers.
NGN, which had long denied the accusations, apologized to the prince on Wednesday for what it described as a “full and unequivocal apology” for The Sun’s serious invasion of his private life between 1996 and 2011, including instances of illegal activity by The Sun’s private investigators.
Additionally, the firm expressed regret to Harry for the phone hacking, spying, and misuse of private information by News of the World journalists and private investigators under its supervision.
NGN also apologized 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.
The eight-week trial was scheduled to begin on Tuesday, with Harry initially bringing the case against NGN in 2019. For many days next month, Harry was supposed to testify.
However, in an unexpected turn of events that infuriated Judge Timothy Fancourt, both parties requested further time to work out a settlement. When Fancourt refused to allow a further delay until Wednesday, attorneys on both sides said they would go to the Court of Appeal to challenge his ruling, effectively stalling the start of the trial.
David Sherborne, the lawyer representing both Harry and Watson, alleged the newspapers had used deception to obtain medical, phone and flight records, as well as bugging homes and placing listening devices into cars.
In order to hide the chicanery, he further said that executives destroyed records and employed other strategies.
Additionally, NGN expressed what it described as a “complete and unequivocal apology” to Watson for the News of the World’s unjustified intrusion into his private life from 2009 to 2011.
It said he had been “placed under surveillance in 2009 by journalists at the News of the World and those instructed by them.” Additionally, Watson had received “substantial damages,” it stated.
Harry, two years ago, became the first senior member of the royal family to appear in court since Queen Victoria’s eldest son, Prince Albert Edward, testified twice in the late 19th century, putting himself at odds with the Royal Family’s well-known “never complain, never explain” mentality.
Harry disclosed in court documents that his father was against his lawsuit, but he consistently stated that his goal was to uncover the truth rather than obtain financial gain, even though other claimants, such as politicians, athletes, and celebrities, reached settlements with NGN.
NGN has already paid out hundreds of millions of pounds to victims of phone-hacking and other unlawful information gathering by the News of the World, but it has always denied there was wrongdoing at The Sun. It has also rejected allegations that senior figures knew about it or tried to cover it up.
Even if he had gone to trial and won, Harry could still have been on the hook for a multi-million pound legal bill. A claimant who receives a court judgment that is less than the amount they were given to settle must pay the costs of both sides’ legal representation under English civil law. The law is designed to discourage lengthy trials.
In April, actor Hugh Grant, who had been a claimant alongside Harry, stated that he was compelled to accept a substantial sum of money to resolve his case because he might have been hit with a hefty legal fee.