New reporting from Hello! Magazine shows that Prince Harry is close to reaching a settlement agreement with News Group Newspapers instead of a more concrete judgement in court.
According to Hello! Magazine, Prince Harry and News Group Newspapers' lawyers are "in complete agreement," which is significant because "the number of times the parties have been in agreement in this litigation are very few and far between."
Previously, Prince Harry said that he wanted to see his case through because he wanted to hold News Group Newspapers accountable. News Group Newspapers was sued by more than 1,300 people after allegedly using unlawful information-gathering methods to author reports about various celebrities and public figures.
The case's unusual turn shows that it is possible Prince Harry joins the other parties who decided to settle with News Group Newspapers. Harry first filed his case in 2019, so any settlement would come after more than half a decade of tense negotiation.
What made Prince Harry change his mind?
Hello! Magazine states that Prince Harry settled a phone hacking claim against the Daily Mail in 2023. The Duke of Sussex claimed that journalists at the Daily Mail hacked his phone, hired private investigators, and used deceptive methods to gain information about him and his activities. Prince Harry received £140,600 after completing his settlement in this case.
In his case against News Group Newspapers, Prince Harry alleged that the publisher unlawfully gathered information about him between 1996 and 2011. However, his allegations of phone hacking were struck out by the court earlier in the process.
The aforementioned facts show that Prince Harry is not against settling cases if the situation calls for it. Comments from Prince Harry and News Group Newspapers' legal teams show that coming to any level of agreement has been difficult since the case began. Due to this, it is likely that Prince Harry's best chance of receiving some sort of compensation has already arrived.
Anthony Hudson KC, a highly regarded expert in media and information law, said that Prince Harry and News Group Newspapers are very close to reaching a resolution. The evidence provided by Hello! Magazine's reporting shows that making this kind of progress is a significant accomplishment either way.
In the end, this is not the first time Prince Harry has endured conflicts with the media. After all, he and his wife, Meghan Markle, moved to the United States because of the UK media's aggressive reporting. Settling with News Group Newspapers would only end one of the many disputes Harry has shared with the media in the past. Time will tell if the Duke and Duchess can address the root causes of the press' ire against them.