(London) Prince Harry got ‘substantial sum’ from tabloid publisher Daily Mirror as part of a financial agreement which puts an end to prosecutions for illicit collection of information, claiming on Friday a new victory in his fight against the press.
On December 15, the youngest son of King Charles III obtained the conviction of the publisher of MirrorMGN, to pay him 140,600 pounds sterling ($238,000) in damages.
The judge estimated that 15 of the 33 disputed articles retained in the proceedings – published between 1996 and 2009 – were the result of hacking into the voicemail boxes of the Duke of Sussex or his entourage as well as other illicit processes.
But Prince Harry’s defense also targeted 115 other items, which, his lawyer David Sherborne announced during a hearing at the High Court in London, are the subject of a financial agreement.
Without revealing the amount of the transaction, the lawyer mentioned a “substantial sum” and affirmed that MGN agreed to pay all legal costs.
David Sherborne mentioned an initial provision of 400,000 pounds sterling ($678,000).
“Our mission continues”
“After our victory in December, the group of Mirror finally acceded to the rest of my requests, which would have required two more trials,” Prince Harry said through his lawyer.
He once again attacked the former editor-in-chief of MirrorPiers Morgan, before launching: “our mission continues”, “I believe in the positive change it will bring for all of us”.
PHOTO BELINDA JIAO, REUTERS
The former editor-in-chief of MirrorPiers Morgan
“This is why I started this and what I will continue to do until the end,” he said.
Prince Harry has initiated several legal proceedings targeting the methods of certain British media in covering his actions, particularly during his youth.
Exiled in the United States, Harry, 39, feels a stubborn resentment towards the tabloid press, which he holds responsible for the death of his mother Lady Di, killed in a car accident in Paris.
At odds with the rest of the royal family and in particular his older brother Prince William, Harry went to London this week to meet his father King Charles III, who is suffering from cancer.
In his judgment in mid-December, Judge Timothy Fancourt concluded that the group’s titles had massively hacked into the voicemails of celebrities between 2006 and 2011, including while a public inquiry into the behavior of the British press was taking place.
He estimated that Prince Harry’s mobile phone messaging had been hacked “to a modest extent”.
During the trial, Prince Harry testified for eight hours spread over two court days in June.
It was the first appearance of a member of the royal family at the bar since that of the future Edward VII in 1891 for a libel trial.