Embroiled in a bitter battle with British tabloids, Prince Harry has reached a financial settlement to end his dispute with the owner of tabloid The Sun, whom he had sued for unlawful interference in his private life.
The Prince's lawyer, David Sherborne, hailed the "monumental victory" after announcing the settlement with News Group Newspapers (NGN) of Rupert Murdoch, owner of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.
The group "must finally be held accountable for its illegal actions and blatant disregard for the law," the lawyer was quoted as saying by AFP.
This last-minute agreement allows Harry and NGN to avoid a trial that was originally due to begin on Tuesday and last for several weeks at the High Court in London.
The 40-year-old prince, the youngest son of King Charles III, has been waging a legal battle against Britain's influential tabloid press. He has always held the paparazzi responsible for his mother Diana's death in Paris in 1997.
Harry has accused NGN publications of using illegal methods, including private detectives, to gather information for articles about him more than a decade ago.
According to the group's statement, NGN has apologised "unreservedly" to Harry for the "phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of personal information by journalists and private detectives" acting for the News of the World - which was shut down in 2011.
As for tabloid The Sun, the group apologised for the newspaper's "serious intrusion" into Harry's private life between 1996 and 2011, "including instances of illegal activity by private detectives".
The group also apologised to the prince for "the impact on him of the widespread coverage and serious intrusion (by the media) into his private life and that of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, particularly in his younger years".
Harry, who now lives away from the royal family in California with his wife Meghan and their two children, will be paid "substantial compensation". | BGNES
