April 26, 2023: Britain’s Prince William settled a phone-hacking claim regarding Rupert Murdoch’s newspaper arm of the UK in 2020 for a “huge sum” after a secret deal with Buckingham Palace, lawyers for the heir’s sibling Prince Harry stated in the documents of the court.

Harry, the younger son of King Charles, sues News Group Newspapers at London’s High Court for many unlawful acts allegedly done on behalf of its Sun and defunct News of the World tabloids from the mid-1990s until now 2016.

He is accusing those acting for the papers of phone-hacking and obtaining private information regarding him by deception, which includes getting hold of his wife Meghan’s social security number.

NGN paid out millions after several journalists at the News were jailed for phone hacking which led to Murdoch closing it down, seeking to have his claim dismissed, which he argues he should have brought much before.

It also refuses anyone from the Sun to be included in any unlawful activity.

In a submission, Harry’s legal team stated that an agreement had been agreed between NGN and the “institution” Buckingham Palace holding off any claims until different outstanding phone-hacking litigation has been settled.

“It is vital in mind that in answering to this bid by NGN to prevent claiming from going to trial, the claimant has had to create public the details of this secret deal and the fact that his brother, His Royal Highness, Prince William, has settled his claim regarding NGN behind the scenes,” the agreement said.

It stated that NGN had settled with William “for a large amount of money in 2020”.

The deal quoted from Harry’s witness statement in which the prince stated that the agreement was struck to “avoid the situation where the royal family would be sitting in the witness box and recount the special details of the private and sensitive voicemails is coming”.

Harry stated that Buckingham Palace “wanted to avoid at all costs” the reputational damage affected by the publication of “intimate telephone talk” details between Charles and the Queen Consort Camilla as his father was still in contact with his mother, Princess Diana.

As part of a chronology which details an exchange of letters amid the Palace and NGN, the document stated that Harry’s grandmother, the late Queen Elizabeth, involving in discussions and had given her permission for him to achieve his case.