Prince Harry settles lawsuit with Mirror Group
Prince Harry has settled his lawsuit against Mirror Group Newspapers, concerning phone hacking and other unlawful actions. His lawyer informed London's High Court on Friday that the publisher had agreed to pay significant damages and cover his legal expenses.
This development follows a December ruling by the High Court, which found Harry to be a victim of illegal information gathering, including phone-hacking, by journalists at the Daily Mirror, Sunday Mirror, and Sunday People tabloids, with the editors' knowledge.
However, the previous judgment only addressed 33 out of the 148 articles Harry had cited in his complaint, with a favorable ruling for him on 15 of these. Harry's lawyer, David Sherborne, stated that Mirror Group Newspapers had now conceded the remaining articles in his claim. "Mirror Group Newspapers will pay the Duke of Sussex a substantial additional sum by way of damages," Sherborne confirmed.
Prince Harry, King Charles' younger son, made history as the first senior British royal in 130 years to give evidence in court during a trial in June. Initially awarded £140,600 (approximately $180,700) after the judge determined he had been unlawfully targeted by MGN journalists, Harry was among approximately 100 claimants, including actors, sports figures, celebrities, and individuals connected to high-profile figures, who sued MGN. He and three others were selected as test cases.
In December, Judge Timothy Fancourt concluded that there had been widespread hacking and other unlawful activities at MGN, including "blagging," or obtaining information through deception, spanning from 1996 to 2011—activities that persisted even during a public inquiry into illicit practices at British newspapers.
Sherborne indicated that MGN would likely pay over £2 million to cover the claimants' legal costs for their generic case, along with an interim payment of £400,000 towards Prince Harry's costs. Notably, Harry was absent from Friday's hearing, having made a brief trip to Britain earlier in the week to visit his father, King Charles, who informed him of a cancer diagnosis. The two were able to meet briefly on Tuesday before Charles returned to his home in eastern England for outpatient treatment, while Harry departed the following day to return to California.
