Prince Harry, the younger son of King Charles, is suing the News Group Newspapers, owned by Murdoch, in the High Court in London over multiple alleged illegal activities conducted on behalf of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World newspaper from the mid-1990s until 2016. During preliminary court sessions over three days this week, the group, which has paid millions of pounds to settle lawsuits related to the hacking of over a thousand phone calls, is seeking to dismiss the lawsuits filed by Prince Harry and British actor Hugh Grant, claiming they have delayed taking such action for too long. The group also denies any involvement of anyone from The Sun in any illegal activities.
In a court memo, Harry's legal team revealed that the reason he did not file a lawsuit earlier was due to an agreement between Murdoch's group and Buckingham Palace to defer any claims. Harry's lawyers stated, "In response to the group's attempt to prevent the lawsuits from reaching the courtroom, the claimant had to disclose the details of this secret agreement, along with the fact that his brother, His Royal Highness Prince William, recently reached a settlement regarding his case with the group behind the scenes." They added that Murdoch's group settled with Prince William "for a very large amount of money in 2020." The heir to the throne's office stated it cannot comment on ongoing legal proceedings.
During a criminal trial of journalists and staff from the former News of the World in 2014, its former editor Clive Goodman revealed that he intercepted voicemail messages of both Prince Harry and Prince William, along with his wife Kate, in the mid-2000s. Goodman stated that Kate's phone was hacked 155 times, Prince William's 35 times, and Prince Harry's nine times.
