Prince Harry Lands Major Payday As He Settles Mirror Group Phone Hacking Suit

The Duke of Sussex, Prince Harry, has secured another financial victory with regard to his phone hacking suit against the Mirror Group Newspapers(MGN).

Both parties recently reached a settlement, guaranteeing the Duke gets around $500,000 in damages in addition to an earlier $180,000 ordered by the court.

According to Deadline, London's High Court has heard that MGN, which publishes The Daily Mirror, has agreed to provide additional compensation to Harry in connection to the phone hacking case he brought against them. The reported amount is approximately $500,000, with additional costs to be evaluated as the case concludes.

The latest settlement pertains to claims of unlawful intrusion into his life in 115 articles, excluding the 33 examined during the length of the case. This added set of articles could have potentially led to another trial if an agreement had not been reached.

It comes after the court ruled in December that the publication had unlawfully hacked into the Duke's phone to collect information for their articles about him.

At the time, the court determined that 15 out of the 33 examined stories were crafted with the assistance of "widespread and habitual" phone hacking. Consequently, Prince Harry was granted approximately $180,000 in damages.

In a statement to the press outside the court, a representative for Harry, David Sherbourne, further reiterated the previous court ruling about hacking being used at the Mirror Group to source information.

He said, per BBC, "Everything we said was happening at Mirror Group was in fact happening, and indeed far worse as the court ruled in its extremely d----- judgment. In light of all this, we call again for the authorities to uphold the rule of law and to prove that no one is above it."

Sherbourne also called out the former Daily Mirror editor Piers Morgan, doubling down on the judge's remark about him being "perfectly" aware of "what was going on."

"His contempt for the court's ruling and his continued attacks ever since demonstrate why it was so important to obtain a clear and detailed judgment," the rep said of Morgan, who has on several occasions denied knowing hacking was being perpetrated at the organization.

Sherbourne then concluded, saying that Harry would not relent in his efforts to see it "through to the end."

Meanwhile, MGN has since tendered a public apology to Harry, adding that they were "pleased" to have settled the case.

"We welcomed December's judgment that gave the business the necessary clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago," read a statement from the organization, per Deadline.

The statement continued, "Where historical wrongdoing took place, we apologize unreservedly, have taken full responsibility, and paid compensation. We are pleased to have reached this agreement, which gives our business further clarity to move forward from events that took place many years ago and for which we have apologized."

Alongside Harry, approximately 100 other claimants, including Michael Turner and Nikkie Sanderson from "Corrie," sought restitution from MGN. These cases reportedly resulted in MGN facing a combined legal bill of around £2m [$2.5m].

It's not been all wins for Harry in his cases against the press. He previously suffered a loss in his libel suit against the publisher of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers Limited.

Harry had claimed that an article written by the news outlet in February 2022 suggested that he had "improperly and cynically tried to manipulate and confuse public opinion." The Duke of Sussex also felt the piece was "an attack on his honesty and integrity."

In court, lawyers for ANL had argued that the article had only expressed an "honest opinion" and did not in any way put Harry's reputation in serious harm." The case judge at the time agreed with their claim and ordered the Duke to pay $62,000 to the publisher for legal fees.

Later on, Harry's team of lawyers filed a notice of discontinuance hours before the deadline was reached to pass over a list of documents before a possible trial.