London [UK], January 22 : Prince Harry has resolved his legal dispute with News Group Newspapers (NGN), the UK media company owned by Rupert Murdoch, according to his lawyer, as reported by CBS News.
The lawsuit, filed in 2019 by Harry and a former senior UK lawmaker, accused News Group of engaging in illegal practices through its tabloids, The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, involving journalists and private investigators.
NGN also issued an apology to Prince Harry for "incidents of unlawful activities."
"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," a statement read in court on Wednesday said.
The statement also included an apology for the activities of journalists and private investigators working for the News of the World.
"NGN further apologises 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. 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 statement said, CBS News reported.
News Group has previously faced over 1,300 lawsuits from politicians and celebrities over allegations of phone hacking and other unlawful activities.
While it has settled many of these claims, the company has consistently denied any wrongdoing by The Sun or that senior executives concealed illegal actions.
In court documents that emerged in 2023, Prince Harry claimed that his own brother, Prince William, heir to the British throne, quietly received "a very large sum of money" in a 2020 phone hacking settlement with Murdoch's UK newspaper group, according to CBS News.