Prince William personally settled phone hacking claim, court heard

Prince William was paid a “huge sum” by The Sun owners to settle historic phone hacking claims, court documents claim.

The payment was made in 2020 in documents from Prince Harry’s lawyers as part of legal action against Newsgroup newspapers in the High Court.

The Duke of Sussex is suing the publisher for illegal data collection.

But NGN says time has run out for him to bring a claim.

The documents did not disclose the amount Prince William paid and did not detail what it involved. A spokesman for the Prince of Wales said he would not comment on ongoing legal proceedings.

The case is one of three major allegations of illegal information gathering brought by the Duke of Sussex against tabloid newspapers – other cases involving the Daily Mirror and Daily Mail groups.

He alleged that evidence revealed from criminal investigations into phone hacking at the now-defunct News of the World proved he was consistently targeted by its sister title, The Sun.

Its journalists and private investigators alleged that it had access to private and confidential information, including details about Prince Harry’s personal life and movements, from the age of 11 or 12.

However, according to the documents, newspaper owners made a “secret deal” with officials at Buckingham Palace to deflect legal claims from members of the royal family.

That agreement, which was not disclosed in court, delayed Prince Harry from bringing his own suit, his lawyers say.

In Prince Harry’s witness statement, he says he first became aware of the alleged deal in 2012.

At the time, he learned that civil servants were launching legal action for phone hacking — and he believed he and his brother were being personally targeted.

He says that when the brothers consulted officials or the royal family’s top lawyer, they were told they could not launch their own legal action.

NGN denies that there is any contract.