It has been reported that Prince Harry, after costs, could have received only £2million out of the settlement reached with Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers (NGN), with sources close to the deal rubbishing claims he had cashed in.
Harry settled out of court with the publisher of The Sun and now-defunct News of the World after he accused it of illegal story-gathering techniques.
At the time, reports suggested Harry had banked in £10million in damages, but insiders say the costs associated with the deal and Harry’s share would be smaller.
According to The Daily Beast, a source with knowledge of the deal said “any sum being speculated on was a total sum and includes damages and costs for the two cases (Sussex and Watson) and a majority (in the region of 75%) of the total figure is provided to cover legal costs.”
Prince Harry had pursued the case with former Labour deputy leader, Lord Tom Watson.
Harry’s new estimated share is double what his brother Prince William is believed to have received from NGN when he took similar action against the company.
Although the exact amount William received has never been formally disclosed, Tortoise Media, run by a former NGN executive, has suggested it was around £1 million ($1.25 million).
Harry’s case was settled last month after frantic last-minute negotiations between Harry and NGN and it was suggested that the chaos was complicated by the eight-hour time difference between Montecito and London – where Harry resides in America.
NGN made an unprecedented “full and unequivocal” apology to Harry and to his late mother, Diana, and admitted for the first time that unlawful information-gathering methods carried out by private investigators had been used at the flagship Murdoch newspaper, The Sun.
One legal source told The Daily Beast: “The amount of damages was actually settled a week before the case opened, what delayed it was the accountability issue. Harry wanted senior NGN executives who he alleged were involved in hacking and the cover up to be named but that was never going to happen.”
Murdoch’s newspaper wing, News UK, also acknowledged and apologised for the “distress” caused to the Duke and the “damage inflicted” on relationships, friendships and family.
Speaking outside court on behalf of Prince Harry, his barrister David Sherborne described the settlement as a “monumental victory”, and said NGN had been “finally held to account for its illegal actions and its blatant disregard for the law”.
Meanwhile, NGN said in a statement its settlement “draws a line under the past” and “brings an end to this litigation”.