Prince Harry's Lawsuit Against The Sun Publisher To Go To Trial, Phone Hacking Claim Dismissed

Prince Harry's illegal information gathering claim against The Sun and its publisher is going to trial. A London Judge recently ruled that Harry's trial against News Group Newspapers will begin in 2024. However, Judge Timothy Fancourt dismissed his other claim that the group hacked his phones. 

Harry also claimed in court that NGN and Buckingham Palace arranged a "secret agreement." When the Duke testified, he made history as the first senior British Royal to testify in 130 years. 

Keep on reading to learn more.

A London High Court has finally declared that Prince Harry's illegal information-gathering case will go to trial. The Duke of Sussex can now take The Sun Newspaper and its publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN), to court for allegedly using illegal methods to obtain and publish information about him. 

The court ruling obtained by People Magazine states that Harry's trial against NGN will begin in January 2024. It read, "The process of selecting the cases that will be tried on this occasion will take place in the autumn."

NGN has denied all the allegations leveled against them by Harry, including that they sent journalists and private investigators after him personally, who stalked and targeted the Royal. According to Harry, this included "blagging of confidential information from third parties, and instructing private investigators to do these or other unlawful acts".

Despite granting his claims regarding illegal information gathering, the court dismissed Harry's other claim regarding phone hacking. Judge Timothy Fancourt ruled that the Duke of Sussex had been aware of the privacy breach since 2012 and should have filed a lawsuit earlier. In the U.K., there is a limitation of six months for claimants to take action after discovering a breach of their privacy. 

Fancourt wrote, "I am satisfied that there is no reasonable prospect of the duke proving at trial that he did not know and could not with reasonable diligence have discovered facts that would show that he had a worthwhile claim for voicemail interception in relation to each of the News of the World and The Sun."

The judge explained that once Harry found out about the breach by News Of The World, another of NGN's former newspapers, he could have connected the dots. He wrote, "He could easily have found out by making basic inquiries that he was likely to have a similar claim in relation to articles published by The Sun."

The London High Court also settled on Harry's allegations of a "secret agreement" between Buckingham Palace and NGN. In a witness statement, the Duke claimed that the deal was the reason he waited so long to take legal action against NGN. 

According to People, the deal stated that any legal action against NGN would be delayed and eventually settled with an admission of guilt and an apology. However, in his ruling, Fancourt said Harry had failed to present evidence from palace officials showing awareness of such a secret agreement. 

When Harry took the witness stand in May to testify on the illegal information gathering claims, he made history for the British Royal Family. The Prince became the first senior British Royal to testify in court in about 130 years. The last Royal to testify before him was King Edward VII, in a divorce case and slander trial. 

Harry first took the unlawful information gathering claims to court in 2019 and emphasized that the group had hacked his voicemails. In his historical witness statement, the Duke named close friends and family members whose voicemails with him were unlawfully accessed. 

This list included his brother Prince William; father, King Charles; late mother, Princess Diana; and ex-girlfriend Chelsy Davy. 

According to BBC News, Harry also has other lawsuits against other newspapers in the world, including breach of privacy suits against the Daily Mail.

Amid his legal battle, Harry and his wife, Meghan Markle, have been faced with other struggles. The pair recently ended their $20 million deal with Spotify and also had their podcast, "Archetypes," canceled after just one season.  

Despite their loss, the Duke and Duchess of Sussex can still bank on their $100 million deal with Netflix. The streaming giant recently reinstated their commitment to working with the royal duo.