Prince Harry Settles Lawsuit Against The Sun, Receives Apology

Prince Harry. Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images

Prince Harry has settled his lawsuit against News Group Newspapers (NGN), which owns U.K. tabloid The Sun.

In a statement issued to Us Weekly on Wednesday, January 22, NGN said it had agreed to pay Harry, 40, “substantial damages” after he accused the company of unlawful information gathering for stories about him and his family.

NGN also apologized for the “serious intrusion” into Prince Harry’s private life.

“NGN offers 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 working for The Sun,” the statement said.

The organization added a further apology for “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information” by journalists and private investigators working at the now-defunct News of the World, which it also owned.

“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,” the statement said.

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. It is also acknowledged, without any admission of illegality, that NGN’s response to the 2006 arrests and subsequent actions were regrettable.”

NGN also offered “a full and unequivocal apology” to Lord Tom Watson, a U.K. politician, “for the unwarranted intrusion carried out into his private life during his time in Government by the News of the World during the period 2009-2011.”

“This includes him being placed under surveillance in 2009 by journalists at the News of the World and those instructed by them. NGN also acknowledges and apologizes for the adverse impact this had on Lord Watson’s family and has agreed to pay him substantial damages,” it added.

In a statement read outside court on Wednesday, Harry and Watson’s lawyer, David Sherborne, said NGN “has finally been held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law.”

Sherborne alleged that the company’s executives deleted over 30 million emails and made false denials throughout a previous investigation.

Sherborne has also called for a police investigation into NGN, BBC News reports.

Harry filed his lawsuit against NGN in 2019, alleging that its journalists had used unlawful information-gathering practices.

In April 2023, it was ruled that the case could move forward on the unlawful information-gathering allegations. However, Harry’s phone hacking allegations were initially thrown out because it fell outside the six-year statute of limitations.

At around the same time, Harry alleged in a court filing that his brother, Prince William, settled with NGN for a “very large sum” in 2020. He also claimed that the royal family had a “secret agreement” with the company, which prevented them from filing lawsuits against it. This was denied by NGN.