Prince William was reportedly paid a “very large sum” by the owners of The Sun to settle historical phone-hacking claims, according to court documents. The papers, which were shown at the High Court, allege that there was a “secret agreement” between Buckingham Palace and News Group Newspapers (NGN). Prince Harry is currently suing the publisher over alleged unlawful information gathering at its titles.
However, NGN has argued that the prince has run out of time to bring a claim. This case is one of three major allegations of unlawful information gathering that the Duke of Sussex has made against tabloid newspapers – the other cases involve the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail groups.
Prince Harry alleges that evidence disclosed since the criminal trials relating to phone hacking at the now-closed News of the World prove he was serially targeted by its sister title, The Sun. He believes that this evidence shows that he was subjected to unlawful information gathering by the tabloid.
The Duke of Sussex is seeking damages for alleged misuse of private information, infringement of copyright and breach of the Data Protection Act. He is also seeking an injunction to prevent further misuse of his private information.
The case is being closely watched by media lawyers and members of the Royal Family, as it could set a precedent for how they are treated by the press in the future. It is also likely to have an impact on how much information is made public about members of the Royal Family.
The High Court will now decide whether Prince Harry’s case can proceed. If it does, it could have far-reaching implications for how members of the Royal Family are treated by the media in the future.