Prince William got 'very large sum' from Murdoch firm in phone hack settlement

Prince William, the inheritor to the British throne, quietly acquired “a very large sum of money” in a 2020 settlement with the British newspaper arm of Rupert Murdoch’s media empire for telephone hacking, in keeping with court docket paperwork aired in one among his brother’s lawsuits.

Prince Harry’s lawyer made the revelation on Tuesday in a abstract of arguments about why his lawsuit in opposition to the writer of The Sun and now-defunct News Of The World shouldn’t be thrown out.

The go well with alleges the newspapers unlawfully gathered info in a scandal relationship again 20 years.

Prince Harry salutes media as he arrives at the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Thursday, March 30, 2023. — Prince Harry salutes media as he arrives on the Royal Courts Of Justice in London, Thursday, March 30, 2023. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth)

News Group Newspapers, which Murdoch owns, argued {that a} High Court decide ought to throw out telephone hacking lawsuits by the prince and actor Hugh Grant as a result of the claims had been introduced too late.

But Harry, the Duke of Sussex, mentioned he was prevented from bringing his case due to a secret settlement between the royal household and the newspapers that referred to as for a settlement and apology.

The deal, which the prince mentioned was authorised by the late Queen Elizabeth II, would have prevented future litigation from the royals.

Harry started pushing for a decision in 2017 however mentioned he “had enough” after the writer “filibustered”. He filed go well with in 2019.

The papers mentioned William, Prince of Wales, later settled for a big, however undisclosed sum.

“It is important to bear in mind that in responding to this bid by NGN to prevent his claims going to trial, (Harry) has had to make public the details of this secret agreement, as well as the fact that his brother, His Royal Highness Prince William, has recently settled his claim against NGN behind the scenes,” lawyer David Sherborne wrote.

“This is used very much by (Harry) as ‘a shield not a sword’ against NGN’s attack.”

The lawsuit is one among a number of that Harry has introduced in opposition to British newspapers, together with two different telephone hacking instances.