Harry won an apology and damages from Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids. Could the lawsuit’s end also help heal the rift with his brother, William, and his father, King Charles III?

News Group Newspapers offered a “full and unequivocal apology” to Harry for the “serious intrusion” into his private life by the Sun between 1996 and 2011.

UPDATED 06.42 a.m. PT: There has been high drama on the first day in the trial of Prince Harry versus Rupert Murdoch ‘s News Group Newspapers (NGN), with a settlement deal now “very close,” according to NGN’s lawyer.

A legal battle brought by Prince Harry against the publisher of The Sun newspaper, owned by media mogul Rupert Murdoch, kicked off at the High Court in London on Tuesday, without Prince Harry in attendance and with several delays.

Prince Harry has agreed to settle his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids. The deal ends a years' long battle to hold the newspapers accountable for invasions of privacy.

Prince Harry wins court battle against Rupert Murdoch's newspaper, receiving substantial damages and an apology for illegal activities by The Sun.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers gave Harry an “unequivocal apology,” admitting for the first time to unlawful activities at The Sun and agreeing to pay what it called substantial damages.

The eight-week case could be financially costly for Prince Harry, but could be worse for the Murdoch organisation.

In 2023, Harry won a case against Mirror Group Newspapers over claims that his phone had been hacked with the knowledge of senior editorial staff, and he will be involved in another phone-hacking case next year, against Associated Newspapers, the publisher of the Daily Mail.

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

Prince Harry vs. Rupert Murdoch has always been a high-profile case with an outcome of losses heralded by both parties in epic proportions. Despite the scandal’s eruption over a decade ago, the drawn-out dispute has only recently come to a settlement with the pedestal favoring the Prince after a battle for the ages.