Prince Harry reaches legal settlement with The Sun publisher as Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids offer rare apology

Rupert Murdoch's U.K. tabloids apologize to Prince Harry, settle privacy invasion lawsuit, pay substantial damages.

Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made a rare apology to Prince Harry in settling his privacy invasion lawsuit and will pay him a substantial sum, his lawyer announced Wednesday (January 22, 2025).

News Group Newspapers offered 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,” attorney David Sherborne read from settlement statement in court.

It was the first time News Group Newspapers has acknowledged wrongdoing at The Sun, a paper once known for featuring topless women on Page 3.

The statement itself was remarkable in breadth, acknowledging “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators” aimed at the prince, allegations NGN had strongly denied before trial.

The statement even went beyond the scope of the lawsuit to acknowledge intruding on the life of his mother, the late Princess Diana.

“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 settlement statement said.

The bombshell announcement in London’s High Court came as the Duke of Sussex’s trial was about to start against the publishers of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World for unlawfully snooping on him over decades.