UPDATED 06.42 a.m. PT: There has been high drama on the first day in the trial of Prince Harry versus Rupert Murdoch ‘s News Group Newspapers (NGN), with a settlement deal now “very close,” according to NGN’s lawyer.

In a statement outside the London court, Harry's barrister David Sherborne said NGN had spent "more than a billion pounds in payouts and in legal costs" in order to "prevent the f

Prince Harry and his legal team have struck a last-minute settlement deal with a newspaper group for invasion of privacy — the same week the case was set to go trial.

News Group Newspapers offered a “full and unequivocal apology” to Harry for the “serious intrusion” into his private life by the Sun between 1996 and 2011.

Prince Harry won a major apology from Rupert Murdoch 's U.K. newspaper division, including for his mother—but the company stopped short of an apology for Meghan Markle.

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers gave Harry an “unequivocal apology,” admitting for the first time to unlawful activities at The Sun and agreeing to pay what it called substantial damages.

Prince Harry has settled with Rupert Murdoch's NGN and received an apology over The Sun and News of the World claims.

LONDON — Prince Harry settled his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids on Wednesday, accepting damages and an apology from News Group Newspapers over years of phone hacking and other unlawful intrusion . The company has also apologized to a second claimant, former Labour Party politician Tom Watson, now Lord Watson.

An expert has revealed what they claim is the reason Prince Harry decided to settle his court case against News Group Newspapers (NGN) after previously saying he wouldn't. The Duke of Sussex settled his cause against Rupert Murdoch's NGN on Wednesday alongside fellow claimant and former deputy leader of the Labour Party,

Harry had vowed to take his case to trial to publicly expose the newspaper’s wrongdoing and win a court ruling upholding his claims.

Prince Harry has agreed to settle his lawsuit against Rupert Murdoch's British tabloids. The deal ends a years' long battle to hold the newspapers accountable for invasions of privacy.