Prince Harry’s Surprise Settlement Ends Legal Battle as Murdoch Tabloids Offer ‘Full and Unequivocal Apology’

Prince Harry‘s determined quest to hold U.K. tabloids accountable for decades of alleged unlawful intrusion into his life came to a conclusion as he settled his case against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers — publisher of The Sun — before the trial officially began.

On Wednesday, Jan. 22, News Group Newspapers issued Prince Harry a “full and unequivocal apology” and “substantial damages” for hacking his phone and invading his privacy, acknowledging the “unlawful” actions of private investigators hired by The Sun. This marked the first time the publisher admitted wrongdoing connected to the tabloid.

The publisher also issued an apology for past intrusions by its journalists into the “private life” of Harry’s late mother, Princess Diana.

PEOPLE understands the damages awarded to Harry involve an eight-figure sum.

The trial, originally scheduled to begin Tuesday morning, was delayed by a day due to private settlement discussions. Harry, 40, was one of only two claimants who had refused to join the hundreds who previously settled lawsuits with NGN over allegations of phone hacking and other illegal information gathering by journalists and private investigators.

He accused the publisher of illegal information gathering between 1996 and 2011, a period during which The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World allegedly targeted him.

Harry was set to give evidence later in the trial, which was taking place alongside former Labour Member of Parliament Tom Watson. Harry was not present in court on Tuesday and was represented by his lawyer David Sherborne.

In a statement obtained by PEOPLE following the settlement, NGN said they offer “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.“

“NGN also offers a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at the News of the World,” the statement continued.

“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 added. “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.”

NGN also offered “a full and unequivocal apology” to Lord Watson “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.” The company has also agreed to pay Lord Watson “substantial damages.”

Outside the court, Lord Watson praised Prince Harry for his leadership in the case. “His bravery and astonishing courage has brought accountability to a part of the media world that thought it was untouchable. I am sure I speak on behalf of the thousands of victims when I say we are grateful to him for his unwavering support and his determination under extraordinary pressure,” he said.

Watson called on Rupert Murdoch to “follow this corporate admission of guilt with a personal apology to Prince Harry, to his father our King and to the countless others who’ve suffered the same unlawful behavior at the hands of his media empire.”

In December, Prince Harry admitted during a conversation with The New York Times columnist and DealBook founder Andrew Ross Sorkin that his anticipated legal expenses would far exceed any potential court settlement.

“One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that,” he said.

Harry is not the first high-profile name to accept a settlement in the case. In April, 2024 Hugh Grant settled with NGN, citing the vast costs that were at stake. Other famous names, including Sienna Miller, were also involved in the initial claims but largely settled at an earlier stage.

Grant explained in April 2024 that he felt he had no choice to settle as he may have been hit with legal fees running into more than $10 million, even if he had been successful. In a lengthy thread on X (formerly known as Twitter), he said, “News Group are claiming they are entirely innocent of the things I had accused the Sun of doing – phone hacking, unlawful information gathering, landline tapping, the burglary of my flat and office, the bugging of my car, the illegal blagging of medical records, lies, perjury and the destruction of evidence.”

“As is common with entirely innocent people, they are offering me an enormous sum of money to keep this matter out of court.”

“I don’t want to accept this money or settle. I would love to see all the allegations that they deny tested in court,” he continued. “But the rules around civil litigation mean that if I proceed to trial and the court awards me damages that are even a penny less than the settlement offer, I would have to pay the legal costs of both sides.”

A spokesperson for NGN told PEOPLE in a statement at the time that it admitted no liability and that settling the case was “in both parties’ financial interests not to progress to a costly trial.”