Prince Harry Resolves Phone Hacking Case Against UK Tabloid Publisher

Prince Harry has reached a resolution in his legal battle against a British newspaper publisher accused of intruding on his privacy through phone hacking and other illicit means, according to his lawyer, David Sherborne, on Friday.

Mirror Group Newspapers has agreed to compensate Harry with a substantial sum covering legal expenses and damages, with an initial payment of £400,000 ($505,000), as disclosed by Sherborne.

In a landmark ruling last December, Harry was awarded £140,000 ($177,000) in damages after a judge determined that phone hacking practices were widespread at Mirror Group Newspapers during the 1990s, with evidence of subsequent cover-ups by the paper's executives. Judge Timothy Fancourt acknowledged that Harry's phone had been hacked to a limited extent.

Mirror Group expressed satisfaction with the settlement, emphasizing its commitment to moving forward from past transgressions and extending apologies for events dating back many years.

This case represents just one aspect of Harry's broader campaign against the British media, which he accuses of negatively impacting his life and subjecting both his late mother, Princess Diana, and his wife, Meghan, to relentless scrutiny.

Although absent from Friday's court proceedings, Harry had previously testified during the trial against Mirror Group in June, marking the first instance in over a century of a senior member of the royal family providing testimony in court.

While Harry has resolved his legal dispute with Mirror Group, he continues to pursue legal action against other tabloid publishers, including The Sun and Daily Mail, over allegations of unlawful surveillance. Despite dropping a libel case against the Mail's publisher following an unfavorable pretrial ruling, Harry remains actively engaged in ongoing legal battles.

During a High Court session on Friday, the judge ordered Mirror Group to cover a portion of the legal expenses incurred by three additional claimants whose cases were heard alongside Harry's. Fancourt reiterated the court's condemnation of Mirror Group's misconduct, underscoring the publisher's efforts to conceal the truth, which have escalated legal costs for all parties involved.

While the privacy violations of all four claimants were acknowledged, the cases brought by actor Nikki Sanderson and Fiona Wightman, comedian Paul Whitehouse's ex-wife, were dismissed due to procedural timing issues. Actor Michael Turner's claim met with partial success in the court's ruling.

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