It’s fair to assume that Princess Diana would be so proud of her son Prince Harry today. After a long legal battle, he settled with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers, the parent company of The Sun. Perhaps even more important than the huge undisclosed financial sum was the apology and admission of guilt from the publication.
Prince Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne read the NGN’s regrets in court. The institution 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.”
Harry was not the only defendant in this case, as he was joined by Lord Tom Watson, a former leader of the Labour Party, who also received a large sum of money and an apology. The two men were the last to hold out on the accusations of phone hacking and shady investigation tactics. According to The Washington Post, NGN has a long history of settling, paying out around $1.2 billion to roughly 1,300 people. Among the victims were actors Hugh Grant, Sienna Miller, and Spice Girl Melanie Chisholm.
Prince Harry spoke about the legal proceedings in December 2024 at The New York Times DealBook Summit. He explained how personal it was to change the status quo of celebrity media coverage, calling it his “life’s mission.” One cannot help but think of his mother’s untimely death in 1997 which occurred because of a car accident when she was trying to outrun overeager paparazzi. The Duke of Sussex was just 12 years old at the time.
“One of the main reasons for seeing this through is accountability, because I’m the last person that can actually achieve that, and also closure for these 1,300 people and families,” he explained. Previously, NGN had claimed that a few rogue reporters were responsible and had not admitted any wrongdoing at The Sun, only the now-shuttered News of the World.
While some might criticize Prince Harry for “selling out” with the settlement, these individuals might not understand the British legal system. Unlike its American counterpart, there are safeguards to dissuade one from lengthy lawsuits. If a petitioner rejects a settlement offer greater than the damages they are ultimately awarded, they may be required to pay both parties’ legal fees under Part 36 rules.
This is why Hugh Grant begrudgingly agreed to settle in 2024. “I don’t want to accept this money or settle,” he explained in a thread on X.
“I would love to see all the allegations that they deny tested in court. 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. My lawyers tell me that that is exactly what would most likely happen here. Rupert Murdoch’s lawyers are very expensive. So even if every allegation is proven in court, I would still be liable for something approaching £10 million in costs. I’m afraid I am shying at that fence.”
Thankfully, his royal counterpart took it all the way. Princess Diana’s brother, Earl Charles Spencer, wrote in a heartfelt post on X: “It takes an enormous amount of guts to take on opponents like News Group Newspapers, and great tenacity to win. And it’s just wonderful that Harry fought for – and gained – an apology to his mother. She would be incredibly touched at that, & rightly proud.”
Published: Jan 23, 2025 07:47 am