Prince Harry: Surprising agreement with “The Sun”

Surprising turnaround in the legal dispute between Prince Harry (40) and the British tabloid “The Sun”: The Duke of Sussex surprisingly agreed to a settlement with the tabloid on Tuesday. Media mogul Rupert Murdoch’s (93) News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher of “The Sun”, apologized “fully and unequivocally” for phone tapping, surveillance and the misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators.

As Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne told the London High Court, the publisher will pay the royal “substantial compensation.” The exact height was not known. The agreement was reached literally at the last minute before the trial began.

The deal was reached in nightly negotiations. The eight-hour time difference to California, where Harry lives, made the conversations much more difficult. The visibly annoyed Judge Fancourt initially apparently showed little understanding for further delays: “The hearing begins today”, made it clear and thus forced the parties to reach an agreement.

The agreement comes as a surprise, as the 40-year-old royal had emphasized during an appearance in New York in December that he wanted to “go through with” the case. He sees himself as the “last person” who can ensure “responsibility”. Of 39 plaintiffs in the case, Harry was one of the last two remaining after others such as actor Hugh Grant (64) had already accepted settlements.

With the deal now concluded, Harry avoids potentially millions in legal fees. Hugh Grant had previously said he had settled to avoid having to pay ten million pounds in legal costs. The publisher’s full apology and the admission of illegal methods are likely to be at least as important for the Duke of Sussex as the financial compensation.