Prince Harry's lawyers tell court William settled for 'very large sum' in 'secret deal' with Murdoch group

Prince Harry is suing News Group Newspapers (NGN) at the High Court in London for multiple unlawful acts allegedly committed on behalf of its Sun and now defunct News of the World tabloids from the mid-1990s until 2016.

The Duke of Sussex has accused those acting for the papers of phone-hacking and obtaining private information about him by deception, including getting hold of his wife Meghan's social security number.

NGN is seeking to have Prince Harry's claim dismissed, arguing he should have brought it sooner.

NGN has paid out millions after multiple journalists at the News of the World were jailed for phone-hacking, leading to Murdoch closing it down.

It also denies anyone from the Sun was involved in any unlawful activity.Kensington Palace have said they are not commenting on ongoing legal proceedings.

The court document said: "It is important to bear in mind that in responding to this bid by NGN to prevent his claims going to trial, the claimant has had to make public the details of this secret agreement, as well as the fact that his brother, His Royal Highness, Prince William, has recently settled his claim against NGN behind the scenes."

It added that NGN had settled with William "for a very large sum of money in 2020".

The document quoted from the Duke of Sussex's witness statement in which he said the deal was struck to "avoid the situation where a member of the Royal Family would have to sit in the witness box and recount the specific details of the private and highly sensitive voicemails that had been intercepted".

Prince Harry said Buckingham Palace "wanted to avoid at all costs" the damage caused by publication of details of an "intimate telephone conversation" between Charles and Camilla in the 19990s, when Charles was still married to Princess Diana.

As part of a chronology detailing an exchange of letters between the Palace and NGN, the document said that the late Queen Elizabeth II, had been involved in discussions and in 2017 had given her permission for Prince Harry to pursue his case.

Kensington Palace has said it will not comment ongoing legal proceedings.