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A settlement in Prince Harry's lawsuit against a UK tabloid publisher appears imminent, with the publisher's lawyers stating Tuesday that they were "very close" to an agreement. The lawsuit alleges unlawful information gathering by two of the publisher's newspapers. Last-minute negotiations delayed the start of the trial, which had been scheduled to begin Tuesday at London's High Court.
The case is the culmination of years of legal wrangling during which dozens of other claimants settled, and pits King Charles III's youngest son and a Labour lawmaker against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN).
They claim private investigators working for two tabloids owned by NGN -- The Sun and now-shuttered News of the World -- repeatedly targeted them unlawfully more than a decade ago. Their blockbuster trial -- due to last up to eight weeks -- was set to begin Tuesday morning, but lawyers repeatedly asked the judge to postpone its start amid "intense" talks over settling.
"The solicitors for both sides have been involved in very intense negotiations over the last few days and the reality is we are very close," NGN's lawyer Anthony Hudson told the High Court.
He added starting the trial could impact the "settlement dynamic" while "a very substantial sum becomes payable" once the case formally opens, without specifying further details.
The exasperated judge, Timothy Fancourt, refused the joint request for a third delay on Tuesday, insisting they had had "ample time" to reach an out-of-court deal. However, the trial did not get underway, after lawyers for both sides indicated they would take their request to a higher court.
The lawsuit is one of several that Harry, 40, has brought against UK newspaper publishers, with whom he has long had a fractious relationship. He has blamed the paparazzi for the 1997 death of his mother, Princess Diana, in a car chase in Paris.
Harry, who quit as a working royal in 2020 and settled in the United States with his wife Meghan, is due to give evidence to back up his claims against the tabloids covering a 15-year period from 1996. He was not present Tuesday.
The prince, whose formal title is the Duke of Sussex, became the first senior British royal to give evidence in court in a century when he testified against MGN in 2023.
