Prince Harry is now only one of two people still suing News Group Newspapers

Can’t wait to see how the Washington Post deals with this update! Prince Harry is now only one of two litigants suing The Sun (News Group Newspapers) for hacking and unlawfully obtained information. Harry was originally part of a larger class-action lawsuit with 40 other litigants, and it was set to go to trial next year. Now NGN has settled with every litigant except for Harry and Tom Watson, a former Labour leader. NGN loves to settle these claims after years of dragging their victims into court and making their lives hell – they did the same with Hugh Grant earlier this year as well, and I imagine NGN had to pay out in a really big way to get 38 people to settle like this.

Prince Harry is continuing his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN) over alleged unlawful activities by journalists and private investigators despite dozens of others settling their cases, his lawyer said on Friday.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles, is suing the publisher of the Sun and the now-defunct News of the World at the High Court in London, alleging NGN unlawfully obtained private information about him from 1996 until 2011.

The royal’s case was one of about 40 lawsuits against NGN, but all but one other litigant – Tom Watson, the former deputy leader of Britain’s now-governing Labour Party – have now settled, Harry’s lawyer David Sherborne told the court.

Those who have agreed to settle include Spice Girl Melanie Brown, former BBC executive Alan Yentob, “Game of Thrones” actor Alfie Allen and Ted Beckham, the father of former England soccer captain David Beckham.

The trial is due to begin in January, though Sherborne has previously said it was likely claimants could be forced to settle because they could be left with huge legal bills if they rejected a settlement offer, even if they won at trial. He made the remarks after British actor Hugh Grant reluctantly settled his case in April.

NGN has paid out hundreds of millions of pounds to victims of phone hacking and other unlawful information gathering by the News of the World and settled claims brought by more than 1,300 celebrities, politicians, well-known sports figures and ordinary people who were connected to them or major events.

Harry’s legal team previously said that his older brother Prince William, the heir to the throne, settled a case against NGN, the British newspaper arm of News Corp, in 2020. The publisher has always rejected allegations of any wrongdoing by staff at the Sun, though it has paid damages to settle cases involving claims levelled against the tabloid’s journalists.

[From US News & World Report]

David Sherborne, Harry’s lawyer in the UK, told the media: “The Duke of Sussex is one of two claimants whose claims are still live in this matter. The reduction of the live claims to just two is a pretty recent development.” Sherborne admitted in April that Harry is taking a huge risk by continuing with this litigation and refusing the settlement offers from NGN, because if Harry loses, he could be on the hook for millions in legal fees and more. There’s been a really high-level pressure campaign to “convince” Harry to drop this lawsuit in particular and/or to settle out of court. I think it’s remarkable that he’s still going.

Photos courtesy of Avalon Red.

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed.

68 Responses to “Prince Harry is now only one of two people still suing News Group Newspapers”

  1. JanetDR says:

    I’m proud of him for doing the right thing! I hope it changes things moving forward.

  2. Tina says:

    It’s very brave that he’s continuing this and I hope he is able to get all of his evidence out in court and Murdoch is found guilty. I don’t think anything will change however but I’m guessing he knows that but wants the moral victory. It’s awful that he could win and still have to pay Murdoch.

  3. LauraD says:

    IMHO if Harry is still not settling out of court, then there’s something in his case that he wants out there and, on the record (and bugger the costs.) Murdoch is finding out the hard way that the “spare” is not as easy to silence as the heir.

    • Christine says:

      I agree. Harry is relentless in his pursuit of justice for his mother, and for Meghan. There is something he really wants on the public record. I really admire him for this, it’s like a real life David and Goliath.

      • LauraD says:

        @Christine – I totally forgot about his mother (which is mad because I’ve said all along, he’s doing this for Diana!) Then I do believe “something” is going to come out about Camilla. I truly believe she’s the only person who KCIII would go all out to protect. That woman was leaking left right and centre to smear Diana and if Harry can show how much that witch fed to the press then I’m pretty sure that he would consider the £15million well spent. In fact, if you think about it Diana left him £19 million in her will and now Harry’s comfortably off he’s probably spending the money on her behalf so she can finally clear her name.

        #GogetthemHarry

    • sevenblue says:

      If and when Harry wins the lawsuit, the Murdoch papers can’t lie about what they did. They are still denying the extent of their illegal behavior and since no one won a case against them, other media can’t report it as a fact.

    • bisynaptic says:

      Go, Harry, go!
      In addition to the moral considerations, Harry can probably afford the financial “hit”, in ways that other litigants can’t. Once he gets this stuff on the record, he can make a documentary about it. It will be seen by *gazillions* of people, all over the globe. He will change the landscape of UK news media—and, possibly, recoup his losses, too. If it brings down the monarchy, he can document that, too. Win or lose, in the courts, he can document all of it and make money, too.

  4. ML says:

    I believe Harry is doing the right thing, but I’m worried that the legal system is set up to benefit NGN. The fact that they have so. much. money and can drag things out and then if they offer significant settlements, which in spite of wrongdoing NGN can easily afford to pay…then justice is warped. Harry might get punished twice–first by NGN, then by the courts if they feel that Harry blew off a “fair” settlement.

    • Magdalena says:

      Well the NGN could not control everything despite their money, because they were roundly dismissed by the judge after their most recent attempt to drag out this trial by pushing the date beyond January. The judge pointed out that it had already been YEARS in the making and it would not be pushed back any further. That’s why it’s happening in January.

  5. Mads says:

    If Harry is prepared to take the risk of losing – because it could cost him £15 million if he fails to obtain a judgment in his favour – I can’t wait to see the evidence; it was Harry’s refusal to drop this that made Charles remove the agreed financial arrangement early, stop all RPO security and revoke the Frogmore lease.
    There’s something damaging to the institution with this and I wonder if it’s anything to do with Christian Jones’ partner allegedly selling stories to Dan Wootten, which would lead directly into KP and William.

    • Jais says:

      Wow, if he lost, it would cost him 15mil? That’s a lot. I have to think that they feel pretty confident in their evidence then. It’s probably pretty blatant. I would love to see the Whooton, Jones and William connection. It’s the reason Charles dropped their security so suddenly. I’m rooting for him and I bet a lot of people that have had to settle are rooting for him too. Does anyone know when the case would start? For some reason, I’m thinking it’s January but I’m not sure.

      • Christine says:

        There is something so heroic about this side of Harry. He obviously has Meghan’s support, and I can’t imagine what they are hiding that is causing Harry to be this unmovable. One by one, other rich people are dropping out, and I get it, it’s a lot of money. Go, Harry!

      • Monika says:

        @Jais I read that the case starts around the 15th of January. I do not think that Harry will settle. In Harry’s last ITV interview he was very aware that he is the only one with enough money to take on the Murdoch press. I admire Harry for sticking to his principles.

        The one to watch is Tom Watson. He was the deputy leader of the Labour party under Jermey Corbyn. Tom Watson alleges he was subject to a politically-motivated campaign of phone hacking. Murdoch will throw everything at him to settle his case outside court. If Tom Watson goes to court and can prove that Murdoch targeted him for political influence that imo would be an earthquake for the BM.

      • Jais says:

        Thx for that update @monika. I would love to see it. I can’t imagine the kind of threat both he and Harry must be feeling. Having good security will be an added cost. I admire them immensely. As you say @christine, go Harry!

      • somebody says:

        Let’s hope that Tom has some interested backers to help him continue on.

    • LauraD says:

      @Mads – ITA. I also wonder if there’s anything to do with Camilla leaking information, especially if it meant taking her son’s dodgy dealing off the front pages. I can’t see KCIII going fully nuclear for William but, he would do (and has done) to protect his “queen.”

    • Mads says:

      I need to amend my earlier post: No matter a win or a loss, should Murdoch’s lawyers offer just £1.00 more than a judge would award in damages, Harry is liable for the legal fees. That’s why Hugh Grant settled, his lawyers advised him that he would probably be looking at a bill of £10 million under UK civil damages and he wasn’t prepared to take the risk.
      So, taking the figure Grant mentioned, and adding fees of the additional hearings since then it’s reasonable to assume a £15 million bill at the conclusion of the case.

    • booboocita says:

      If Harry is found liable for legal costs, I have no doubt that the Sussex Squad will start a GoFundMe for at least part of the judgment. They probably won’t raise 15 mil. pounds, but I’m guessing they’d raise about a quarter at least. They’ll certainly have my contribution.

  6. I’m glad Harry is sticking with it and I hope it goes his way!!

  7. Interested Gawker says:

    Keep Sussexes in your prayers.

    Harry is closer to his goal while the world grows more pear shaped and dangerous.

  8. aquarius64 says:

    If Jarry is willing to lose £15M perhaps the Sussexes are not ad broke as the BM would like to paint them as being?

    • Unblinkered says:

      There are perhaps more wealthy – and powerful – people than we realise on Harry’s side, dismayed at how he and his family have been treated, and with very deep pockets who may well bankroll most of said legal costs.

  9. TN Democrat says:

    Good luck, Good Prince Henry!

  10. Shoegirl77 says:

    Harry and Meghan’s bravery and tenacity are genuinely astounding. He definitely wants some stuff on the record and noted for the world to know. He’s not for backing down and he’s got an amazing woman beside him supporting him all the way. Tear it the f**k down, Harry and Meghan.

  11. MsIam says:

    Good luck Harry! Take them for everything!

    • It that So? says:

      I may be wrong, but British courts don’t usually offer large payouts for these kinds of cases. All the BM have had to of done is offer Harry a penny more than the courts do for him to be stuck paying years of their phalanx of lawyers charges.

      Hugh Grant having to exit was a blow. I sincerely hope Harry and Watson can stay in.

      Harry’s fight with the media should be Harry’s next book/doc.

      I wonder if you can get insurance to cover this kind of thing.

      Harry’s supporters should start a gofundme for corrupt British media court fines, and if he doesn’t have to pay designate the funds for Invictus.

  12. wolfmamma says:

    I am hoping that Harry has real support in his pursuit of this .. like folks with really deep interests in changing things for the better as Harry is.

    • Tina says:

      Thats what I’m wondering as well. People like Hugh grant have deep pockets and really want change. I’ve wondered if others have settled knowing that they would be helping Harry. They just need one win and Harry’s would be the most impactful. Maybe I’m just being delusional. I think the Sussexes are likely very financially comfortable now but lighting $15 million on fire with no back up is a big choice.

      • Christine says:

        It would be poetic justice if his Spare advance is set aside for fighting the British media to the bitter end. I bet he would happily light it all on fire to right the wrongs done to him and so many others.

  13. Harla says:

    It’s not a good idea to mess around with a Virgo when we’re fighting for what’s right. We aren’t afraid of the fight, we’re stubborn and persistent in the face of lies and deceit. Plus, we can have a next-level petty streak in us that means we will bring you down, even if it takes years to do so.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Harla, as another Virgo, ITA. They’re messing with the wrong person. Harry wants this all to be aired in daylight for all to see. They will not change his mind and if he has to pay the attorneys fees, he’ll consider it money well paid.

  14. Barbara says:

    NGN settled every claim – over 1.500 – to avoid court. If this goes to trial, it would be a first. Harry is a hero for doing this, since there has never been a verdict. In the huge settlements NGN doesn’t accept liability.

  15. Lady Esther says:

    Looks like the theory is correct – Harry wants the palace shenanigans on the public record, so that’s why he’s willing to keep going. The DM is reporting that there are emails between Geidt, Young and Murdoch’s newspapers discussing a settlement before the Queen died:

    https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-14087327/Prince-Harry-late-Queen-senior-courtier-phone-hacking-court-battle.html

  16. Fastgran50 says:

    Sorry I think Harry’s going to get severely burned in this one.Just today Harry team are still trying to view emails between the papers and the palace. Of course the papers are saying it’s too late in the day for this. Even if Harry wins he could be in for a huge bill. Even if he win the BM will still write awful stories about him and Meghan.I think they have enough to worry about with that big orange blob ready to take over the country. Trump would have no qualms about arresting Harry and publicly booting him out of the US. Trump has real power now and he’s a maniac

    • Lady Esther says:

      I see your point that there is great risk to Harry, but my bet’s on Harry.

      He’s painting his targets like the talented military officer he is, and seeing it through as a soldier with honor. I’d be quivering in my boots if I was Murdoch, he picked the wrong royal to cross.

      • Fastgran50 says:

        I seem to recall a few months ago when Hugh Grant settled. Harry’s lawyer went on record to say that Harry might be better to settle. Even the judge dealing with case said the case was taking up too much court time. I thought it was very inappropriate for the judge to comment. I fear that Harry won’t get a fair hearing. There are so many shifty people involved all accepting money from the highest bidders.i just hope Harry persistence pays off so he and meghan can move on

    • Jais says:

      The BM will write horrible stories about Harry and Meghan forever regardless of court cases. Whether he wins loses or settles. I don’t think he sees this as ending that abuse. It’s pretty clear he sees this as the moral and ethical path that he wants to take and that he’s doing it for every person who was forced to settle. Is it foolish? Maybe? Hopefully he’s protected. I can’t help but admire him for it. And be rooting for him.

      • Christine says:

        Agreed. The threat of the British media continuing to write hit pieces when we are coming up on a decade of it already? That card is old and played out and the opposite of a threat, it’s just another day ending in ‘y’.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Fastgran50, I think you’re giving the Orange Blob too much power. He still has to follow the laws and doing what you say wouldn’t happen. We still have guardrails and Harry can afford attorneys. Plus, the ACLU and AGs from blue states around the Country would be suing as well.

      I believe Harry knows well just how much this could cost, but he wants everyone to know exactly what the DM did and how they did it. He wants it all out in the open.

    • Tessa says:

      Trump cannot arrest harry

      • anotherlily says:

        One of the things I admire about the US is its unequivocal stance on citizenship. If you are born in the US you are a US citizen. If you are the child of a US citizen you can also have citizenship even if you are born outside the US.

        A recent documentary shown on UK TV featured a heavily pregnant Mexican woman making a perilous journey to cross the border into the US . She succeeded and her daughter was born a US citizen with her mother now having a legal right of residence in the US for at least 18 years.
        Harry is the husband and father of US citizens.

  17. VilleRose says:

    It is remarkable he has kept going. Even if he does lose, I don’t count it as a loss really. The narrative will always be that he was seeking justice for his mom, for himself and Meghan, and trying to change the predatory way newspapers illegally obtained information for years. No matter what, NGN walks away looking bad, though I know if he loses they will try to paint Harry as the villain. But it’ll always be a black mark against them. And if he does settle eventually, I still take that as a win for him. He is incredibly brave and stubborn.

  18. Amy Bee says:

    I’d be surprised if he settles this case but if he does it’s going to be for a huge amount of money.

  19. ElleE says:

    I’ll say it again: there is something very specific that Harry wants revealed & the public has no idea what that is. It’s buried in discovery at the moment.

    And where is all of this media company’s £ coming from? It’s “money-makers” don’t make money? It’s just an endless spigot of settlement £? This one party could bankrupt its insurance company.

    • Lady Esther says:

      “I’ll say it again: there is something very specific that Harry wants revealed & the public has no idea what that is. It’s buried in discovery at the moment.”

      Agree. Harry has support from the likes of former PM Gordon Brown, also an alleged victim of phone hacking. He’s not standing alone, and there are clearly issues of greater public interest involved. Charles, William and the whole Royal slash press establishment wouldn’t be fighting so hard to bury everything if it wasn’t the case…

  20. Angied says:

    Whatever it is I hope he wins. I pray that he’s getting good legal advice. If he loses he would have a pay them an enormous sum of money. What worries me is that everyone else has settled besides him and the other guy. Why are they the two holdouts unless there is something in those findings that he wants out. I bet he is under pressure from them to make a settlement. Right now he’s not bending. Prayers out to him and may he win.

  21. slippers4life says:

    It’s not about the money for Harry. It’s about changing the British media. He is on a mission for his mother, his ex girlfriend, his wife and his kids

    • Shoegirl77 says:

      And this is why the people criticising him and smearing his wife and children will never ever get it. He’s lost too many loved ones to these vultures and not only is he unwilling to lose any more of his real family and loved ones to this hounding, he doesn’t want anyone else to go through it. Empathy is a concept that the people who lack it can’t understand.

    • QuiteContrary says:

      Exactly this.

      This is why Harry is the real leader of that family — he’s brave and true.

    • Christine says:

      I don’t know why people are finding this so hard to grasp. Meghan calls him “Mr. Justice Man”, FFS! It is clearly a higher calling, for Harry.

  22. Cassie says:

    Reckon Harry has some very rich , powerful friends behind the scenes backing him all the way on this one .

    • Pixie says:

      100%. They have billionaires as close friends, not to mention their own investments and money. $15mill is cheap change to them, burn it all down – Haz we love you <3

  23. B says:

    Isn’t this what royalty is supposed to do? Lead by example and be defenders of their subjects and nation?

    Prince Harry is the only member in his family not grifting off the British public and is actively doing something that will that country better. The british media is a scourge and has tainted every aspect of british life. Politics, entertainment, and the everyday person experiening a tragedy. Nothing and no one is safe.

  24. J McGraw says:

    He’s such a badass for pushing forward on this issue virtually alone, and of course he gets seemingly zero credit from anyone in the UK for his bravery and willingness to take serious financial risk to pursue justice from these dirtbags.

    You’d think people would recognize the nobility and self-sacrifice of what he’s doing, bc he knows even wealthy celebs can’t afford to continue the fight so he’s really doing it on behalf of everyone whose privacy has been violated and reputation destroyed by these fiends and yet he doesn’t get any credit. The US is still I think confused by how the media works in the UK (I know I still am) it’s alien to us so it’s hard for Americans to comprehend the level of expense, time, financial and reputational risk of these lawsuits.

  25. Nic919 says:

    Wouldn’t this be a great time for Starmer to start up part two of the Leveson Inquiry? The Uk media is despised and not trusted to a level even worse than Americans with their own media.

    Also costs have been greatly exaggerated. You don’t get full indemnity costs even if you lose at trial and the court assesses the reasonableness of the legal fees.

    The British media has been so biased in covering this and other Harry and Meghan legal matters that there should be American media there to report what is really going on. Or perhaps Byline Times. Corporate media there is just biased nonsense, as we saw with how the letter case was handled.

  26. Darkwing Duck says:

    His complaints relate to the conduct of News International during the 1990s and 2000s (which is why they tried to argue it was time barred) so are unlikely to feature Wooton or Jones and will have nothing to do with Meghan although watch commenters, especially American ones, blame her and accuse her of being part of it and a liar etc, just as I saw them do when Harry sued the Mirror Group over the conduct of their newspapers over the same historical period.

    I expect that, as before, Royal supporters and casual onlookers will also continue to maintain that the Royal Family never leaks private information about Harry even though this is likely to be the Sun’s main defence as it was the Mirror’s. Hopefully that doesn’t get brushed under the carpet again.

    It’s a big thing for Tina Brown to overlook – that Meghan, who supposedly has Harry ‘in her thrall’, has zero to do with this consuming crusade. If anyone is in anyone’s thrall it’s her to him, he is likely to have known the Daily Mail had acted unlawfully in publishing her letter to Dad and could be sued over it before she did. The writer retaining copyright is a UK quirk his Dad had already won in court about but in America (and to an American?) it would have appeared that there was no case to answer?

    On a somewhat related topic I am fairly sure now, as a Brit, that the word ‘tabloid’ means something similar but *not identical* here to what it does in the US.

    I see a lot of Americans going, duh don’t they realise that’s a tabloid, why do they believe it? It’s because ‘tabloid’ is literally just a newspaper publishing size and while it does convey something about the quality of the journalism the mass market newspaper hierarchy in the UK has little to do paper’s format and there is effectively no linear continuum from trustworthy to untrustworthy – it often depends on what they are reporting about?

    Even CBers seem mostly happy to accept that the Mirror is not a tabloid like the Enquirer when considering its investigative reporting on the Duchy of Cornwall’s mouldy rental properties? The Mail, Mirror, Sun and Express are tabloids but they are also real newspapers, they are not equivalent to what I would call supermarket checkout magazines like The Enquirer (UK Ed), Closer (UK Ed), Bella, Heat or New (you can look up their covers which rotate between pictures of Meghan and Victoria Beckham looking sad because their marital relationships are perennially at ‘Make Or Break’ point).

    Interestingly enough, though I think it’s sometimes just for the sake of having content or something to discuss tbh, this site attaches more weight to the Express and the Mirror’s royal reporting than I believe most British people would? Their stories frequently do not merit extensive analysis or rebuttal due to the papers’ lack of reach and lack of credibility in this specific sphere. In contrast, IMO, the Mail and Sun are more more widely read and influential (and have better, and consequently self-reinforcing, links to the Palaces from what I can see, so are more credible at least in the sense of ‘this is what people in the Palace want the public to think…’).

    As per ChatGPT

    “The UK has its “middle-market” tabloids (Daily Mail, Daily Express), which combine sensationalist tendencies with an attempt at mainstream respectability. The US lacks this clear middle-market stratum, where “serious” newspapers are starkly separated from tabloids”

    ChatGPT also concluded that there are no US equivalents to the Sun and the Mirror emphasising in particular the political influence of the the Sun and the left leaning and class concious nature of the Mirror. I was told the Guardian’s ‘lighter’ sections might be a ‘US’ equivalent of the Mirror, lol.

    Take it all with a pinch of salt but there is an essential truth here that I think I’d recognised even before picking up on this specific tabloid thing. I think because Brits, in common with other Europeans, travel more by bus and train, our societies consume more news through print journalism and retain, for now, a diverse, and influential, range of daily newspapers? The stakes are therefore potentially extremely high for these court cases.

    • Saucy&Sassy says:

      Darkwing Duck, how I think of media in the US is how they’ve written about and talked about immigrants in the US. We saw first-hand how the media actually got the UK to vote for Brexit. We’ve seen how the media has been doing the same in the US to get the Orange Blob in office again (I don’t believe that’s going to happen–stay tuned). The mainstream media (msm) in the US is losing readers and viewers because of their views which are pushed by the billionaire owners. Well, they’re finding out how well that’s worked for them. People are more and more going online to find factual media and ignoring the msm.

    • Beverley says:

      Thanks for the clarification. This American didn’t grasp the important distinctions.

    • sunnyside up says:

      Unfortunately the best selling newspapers in Britain are anti- Meghan, they know their audience. The Metro isn’t sold, it is a freebe.
      https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_newspapers_in_the_United_Kingdom_by_circulation

  27. Maxine Branch says:

    Sending good vibes and blessings to this warrior as he navigates this treachery

Commenting Guidelines

Read the article before commenting.

We aim to be a friendly, welcoming site where people can discuss entertainment stories and current events in a lighthearted, safe environment without fear of harassment, excessive negativity, or bullying. Different opinions, backgrounds, ages, and nationalities are welcome here - hatred and bigotry are not. If you make racist or bigoted remarks, comment under multiple names, or wish death on anyone you will be banned. There are no second chances if you violate one of these basic rules.

By commenting you agree to our comment policy and our privacy policy

Do not engage with trolls, contrarians or rude people. Comment "troll" and we will see it.

Please e-mail the moderators at cbcomments at gmail.com to delete a comment if it's offensive or spam. If your comment disappears, it may have been eaten by the spam filter. Please email us to get it retrieved.

You can sign up to get an image next to your name at Gravatar.com Thank you!

Leave a comment after you have read the article

Save my name and email in this browser for the next time I comment