Rupert Murdoch's Newspaper The Sun Apologizes to Prince Harry, Legal Battle Settled Out of Court

Harry had been suing NGN at the High Court in London, accusing newspapers

LONDON: Prince Harry on Wednesday settled his privacy claim against media mogul Rupert Murdoch's U.K. newspaper group. Prince Harry's lawyer said on Wednesday that The Sun newspaper has apologized to Prince Harry for intruding into his private life, the New York Times reported.

This is the first time the publisher has admitted to unlawful actions by its tabloid. News Group Newspapers, publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, also admitted to intruding into the private life of Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana.

Diana was killed in a car crash in Paris in 1997. Before the crash, several photographers were following Prince Diana to take pictures of her.

"Today, the lies are out in the open. Today, the cover-up is exposed. And today it has been proven that no one is above the law. The time for accountability has come," said a statement read by Prince Harry's lawyer David Sherborne outside the High Court.

The newspaper The Sun issued an apologetic statement, "We apologize for the trouble caused to the Duke, the damage caused to his relationships, friendships and family, and are ready to pay him adequate compensation."

Murdoch is a morally bankrupt billionaire that made a lot of money out of chaos, and made the world worse for it. He's gotten away with it for far too long.

Prince Harry's victory is historic. 👏#ToxicBritishMedia
pic.twitter.com/mKnnyLxeiY

— Amra Watson (@AmraWatson) January 22, 2025

According to a source, Prince Harry will get an eight-digit amount as compensation from this settlement. After this apology from the newspaper, the long-running legal battle between Prince Harry and Rupert Murdoch has been resolved a day before the hearing began in the court.

Prince Harry said, "I am very happy with this historic victory. The wait of 15 years is now over."

Prince Harry's dispute with The Sun had been going on for a long time. The newspaper had reported on everything from his girlfriend to drug addiction. Prince Harry had blamed the media for his mother's death. Harry had said - their (media) hands are stained with blood.

Former senior British MP Watson will also get a part of the amount received by Harry. Last week, Harry and Watson said in court that they are not fighting the case to get a fine but they want accountability of the media company and want to teach them a lesson.

Before dumb people start with he has settled . Let the intelligent people in the room speak.
Prince Harry wanted to go all the way but then they admitted wrongdoing and apologised, in uk there was no way to go forward because they have already admitted it. pic.twitter.com/itcrF11CFV

— Claire (@claireXanda) January 22, 2025

Tom Watson said - Harry hunted a big animal Murdoch's company has also apologized to former MP Tom Watson. Labour Party leader Watson is now a member of the House of Lords. Watson was investigating Murdoch's news company in Parliament from 2009 to 2011. During this time, the British newspaper spied on Watson.

Tom Watson said - "Today in a big victory, News UK has admitted that The Sun, the flagship title of Rupert Murdoch's UK media empire, has indeed been involved in illegal activities. They praise Prince Harry's 'bravery and courage'. He has succeeded in hunting the 'big animals' of the media house." Harry had sued NGN in the High Court in London, accusing its newspapers of illegally obtaining personal information about him from 1996 to 2011.

Murdoch's two news companies, News of the World and The Sun, were accused of hacking Prince Harry's phone between 1996 and 2011, illegally collecting his personal information.

Harry had alleged that more than 200 such news were published in which his personal information was mentioned. The newspaper has admitted that this was illegal. News of the World was closed in 2011.

NGN has paid out millions of pounds to the victims of phone hacking and other illegal information collection by News of the World and settled more than 1,300 lawsuits involving celebrities, politicians, famous sports personalities and ordinary people who were associated with them or major events.

Prince Harry's phone hacking case against the Daily Mail publisher will go to trial in 2026.