Prince Harry Agrees to Settlement as Murdoch’s U.K. Tabloids Offer Full Apology

Prince Harry’s lawyer announced on Wednesday that he had reached a settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers over accusations of unlawful information gathering — an abrupt end to a case that Harry had cast as a last chance to hold the tabloids to account for years of predatory behavior.

News Group Newspapers offered Harry a “full and unequivocal” apology for hacking his cellphone and intruding into his personal life, and acknowledged “unlawful” conduct by private investigators hired by one of the tabloids, The Sun.

The company also apologized for past intrusions by its journalists into the private life of Harry’s mother, Diana, Princess of Wales, who died in a car accident in Paris in 1997 while being pursued by photographers.

“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,” the apology read, referring to Harry using his alternative title, the Duke of Sussex.

The settlement, announced the day after the long-awaited trial was scheduled to begin, spared News Group Newspapers from weeks of damaging testimony about phone hacking and other unlawful methods it used more than a decade ago to ferret out information about Harry and other prominent figures. It also spared Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, from heavy financial risk, regardless of how he had fared in court. Under English law, Harry would have been required to pay the legal costs of both sides if the court did not award him an amount commensurate with what News Group Newspapers offered him in a settlement.

This is a developing story. Check back for updates.