Prince Harry’s lawyer announced on Wednesday that he had reached a settlement with Rupert Murdoch’s British tabloids over accusations of unlawful information gathering, an abrupt, anticlimactic end to a case that Harry had cast as a last chance to hold the tabloids to account for years of predatory behavior.
The settlement, announced the day after the long-awaited trial was scheduled to begin, spared News Group Newspapers from damaging testimony about phone hacking and other unlawful methods it allegedly used more than a decade ago to ferret out information about Harry and other prominent figures. News Group denies the allegations.
It also spared Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, from heavy financial risk, regardless of how he had fared in court. Under English law, Harry would have been required to pay the legal costs of both sides if the court did not award him an amount commensurate with what News Group Newspapers offered him in a settlement.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates.
