Prince Harry claims 'monumental' win over Murdoch's UK tabloids

Prince Harry claimed a "monumental" victory over billionaire Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group on Jan. 22 after the publisher settled his lawsuit, admitting unlawful actions at its Sun tabloid for the first time and paying substantial damages.

- REUTERS

LONDON - Prince Harry claimed a "monumental" victory over billionaire Rupert Murdoch's British newspaper group on Jan. 22 after the publisher settled his lawsuit, admitting unlawful actions at its Sun tabloid for the first time and paying substantial damages.

Prince Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles, sued News Group Newspapers (NGN), publisher of The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, at the High Court in London, alleging the papers illegally obtained private information about him from 1996 till 2011.

NGN also admitted it intruded into the private life of Prince Harry's late mother, Princess Diana. A source familiar with the settlement said the damages involved an eight-figure sum.

"In a monumental victory today, News UK has admitted that The Sun, the flagship title for Rupert Murdoch's UK media empire, has indeed engaged in illegal practices," Prince Harry and his co-claimant, British lawmaker Tom Watson, said in a statement.

"Today, the lies are laid bare. Today, the cover-ups are exposed. And today proves that no one stands above the law. The time for accountability has arrived," said the statement, read by their lawyer, Mr. David Sherborne, outside the High Court.