Prince William, the heir to the British throne, was quietly awarded «a large sum of money» in a 2020 settlement with the British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire for wiretapping, according to court documents issued Tuesday in one of the lawsuits. his brother’s. .
Prince Harry’s lawyer made the disclosure in a summary of the arguments why Harry’s lawsuit against the publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World should not be dismissed. The lawsuit alleges that newspapers illegally collected information in a scandal dating back two decades.
News Group Newspapers, owned by Murdoch, argued that a High Court judge should throw out the phone-hacking lawsuits by the prince and actor Hugh Grant because the lawsuits were filed too late.
But Harry, the Duke of Sussex, said he was unable to present his case because of a secret agreement between the royal family and newspapers calling for a settlement and an apology. The deal, which the prince says was authorized by the late Queen Elizabeth II, would have prevented future royal litigation.
Harry began pushing for a resolution in 2017, but said he «had enough» after the publisher «obstructed». He filed a lawsuit in 2019.
The documents said William, Prince of Wales, later settled for a large but undisclosed sum.
«It is important to note that in responding to this NGN offer to avoid his claims going to trial, (Harry) has had to make public the details of this secret settlement, as well as the fact that his brother, His Royal Majesty His Highness Prince William recently settled his claim against NGN behind the scenes,” wrote lawyer David Sherborne. «This is very much used by (Harry) as ‘a shield, not a sword’ against NGN attack.»
The lawsuit is one of several Harry has brought against British newspapers, including two other cases of phone hacking.
When contacted by NBC News, a spokesman for News UK, the trading name for News Group Newspapers, declined to immediately comment. NBC News has also reached out to Buckingham Palace.