Murdoch's UK tabloids apologize to Prince Harry and admit intruding on the late Princess Diana

LONDON — Prince Harry claimed a monumental victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch's U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life over decades and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

News Group Newspapers offered a "full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators," attorney David Sherborne read from the settlement statement in court.

The statement even went beyond the scope of the lawsuit to acknowledge intruding on the life of Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana.

It was the first time News Group has acknowledged wrongdoing at The Sun, a paper once known for featuring topless women on Page 3.

Harry had vowed to take his case to trial to publicly expose the newspaper's wrongdoing and win a court ruling upholding his claims.

But under English law, he faced astronomical legal bills even if he won, and his lawyer said he achieved the accountability he sought for himself and hundreds of others, including ordinary people.

News Group acknowledged "phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators" aimed at Harry. NGN had strongly denied those allegations before trial.

"This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them," Sherborne said outside the High Court in London.

"We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages," the settlement statement said.

The bombshell announcement in court came as the Duke of Sussex's trial was about to start. Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, and one other man were the only two remaining claimants out of more than 1,300 others who had settled lawsuits against News Group Newspapers over allegations their phones were hacked and investigators unlawfully intruded in their lives.

Sherborne said the company had engaged in "perjury and cover-ups" to obscure the truth for years.

"There was an extensive conspiracy," he said, in which "senior executives deliberately obstructed justice."

In all the cases that have been brought against the publisher since a widespread phone hacking scandal forced Murdoch to close News of the World in 2011, Harry's case got the closest to trial.

Murdoch shut down the News of the World after the Guardian reported that the tabloid's reporters had hacked the phone of Milly Dowler, a murdered 13-year-old schoolgirl, while police were searching for her in 2002.

As the case was about to start Tuesday morning, his lawyer asked for a one-hour recess, then got a longer adjournment and finally asked to have the rest of the day as it became clear a settlement was in the works.

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The case was one of three lawsuits Harry has brought accusing British tabloids of violating his privacy by eavesdropping on phone messages or using private investigators to unlawfully help them score scoops.

His case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror ended in victory when the judge ruled that phone hacking was "widespread and habitual" at the newspaper and its sister publications.

During that trial in 2023, Harry became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court since the late 19th century, putting him at odds with the monarchy's desire to keep its problems out of view.

His feud with the press dates back to his youth, when the tabloids took glee in reporting on everything from his injuries to his girlfriends to dabbling with drugs.

But his fury with the tabloids goes much deeper.

He blames the media for the death of his mother, Princess Diana, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi in Paris. He also blames them for the persistent attacks on his wife, actor Meghan Markle, that led them to leave royal life and flee to the U.S. in 2020.

The litigation has been a source of friction in his family, Harry said in the documentary "Tabloids On Trial."

He revealed in court papers that his father opposed his lawsuit. He also said his older brother William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had settled a private complaint against News Group that his lawyer has said was worth over 1 million pounds ($1.23 million).

"I'm doing this for my reasons," Harry told the documentary makers, though he said he wished his family had joined him.

Harry was originally one among dozens of claimants, including actor Hugh Grant, who alleged that News Group journalists and investigators they hired violated their privacy between 1994 and 2016 by intercepting voicemails, tapping phones, bugging cars and using deception to access confidential information.

Of the original group, Harry and Tom Watson, a former Labour Party member of Parliament, were the holdouts headed to trial.

News Group had denied the allegations.

NGN had issued an unreserved apology to victims of voicemail interception by The News of the World and said it settled more than 1,300 claims. The Sun has never accepted liability.

The outcome in the News Group case raises questions about how Harry's third case — against the publisher of the Daily Mail — will proceed. That trial is scheduled next year.

Photos: Prince Harry and Meghan through the years