Prince Harry’s lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch reveals his brother William received secret payments

He Prince William He received an A “a very high amount” of the British Newspaper Group Rupert Murdoch for Solve phone hacking casesAccording to court documents filed Tuesday by his younger brother Prince Harry’s legal team.

Hari sued Newsgroup newspapers (NGN) at London’s High Court before Murdoch Illegal acts He alleged that it was done on behalf of the tabloids — including hacking his voicemails the sun And he’s already gone World news from 1994 up to 2016. After the hearing, it will be decided whether the case should go to trial.

In court documents, Harry’s legal team argued that William was paid in secret from Murdoch’s company. The filing didn’t reveal the exact amount, or what William was accused of doing, but said it was NGN She settled with William for “a much larger sum in 2020.”

In a little while the news arrives that the prince has been paid foxnewsFrom Murdock, will pay a huge sum $787.5 million A libel settlement with Dominion voting systems.

Harry said the payment to his older brother was part of a secret agreement between NGN and Buckingham Palace that no legal action could be taken against the Murdoch titles until further pending phone-jacking cases were resolved. NGN denies that there is a confidentiality agreement.

Kensington Palace on behalf of Prince William and Buckingham Palace on behalf of King Charles III declined to comment. It’s not clear whether Harry is getting along with his father or his brother, as he describes the breakdown in his relationship with them in his best-selling memoir, “Spare.” Absence of action from the Palace in the face of negative stories in the tabloids.

Harry says the deal was made because the palace wanted to avoid members of the Royal House testifying in court. In his witness statement, Harry said he loved the royal family Avoid recounting “specific details of personal and highly sensitive voice messages” in court He also mentioned “a private phone conversation between my father and my stepfather in 1989, when he was married to my mother.”

It is believed that he was referring to the “Thambongate” story in the newspaper the sunIt was published in 1989 after the newspaper obtained a telephone recording of a private conversation between then-Prince Charles and Camilla.

NGN has already paid huge amounts Journalists Your publication World news were He was jailed for phone hacking. The company is seeking to dismiss Harry’s lawsuit because he waited too long to file it. Harry’s side counters that the secret deal between the palace and NGN is the reason for the delay.

“It is important to note that in response to NGN’s attempt to prevent his claims from being heard, the plaintiff has had to make public the details of this confidential settlement and the fact that his brother, His Royal Highness, Prince William, has recently settled his claim against NGN behind the scenes,” court documents say.

Harry was overwhelmed Various legal battles with British media groups. Last month, he stunned journalists when he appeared in a case against a newspaper editor Daily Mail. He is also set to testify in a lawsuit against the publishers of Daily Mirror And this Sunday Mirror On charges of phone hacking. The trial will begin just days after the coronation of Harry’s father, King Charles III, on May 6.

© Washington Post 2023

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