Murdoch's UK tabloids apologize to Prince Harry and admit intruding on the late Princess Diana

LONDON (AP) — Prince Harry claimed a “monumental” victory Wednesday as Rupert Murdoch’s U.K. tabloids made an unprecedented apology for intruding in his life for years, and agreed to pay substantial damages to settle his privacy invasion lawsuit.

News Group Newspapers acknowledged its private investigators and journalists targeted Harry with phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information. The company offered him a “full and unequivocal apology" for intrusion by the now-defunct News of the World and its sister tabloid The Sun.

The statement, read out at the High Court in London by Harry’s attorney David Sherborne, even went beyond the scope of the case to acknowledge intruding on the life of Harry's mother, the late Princess Diana, and the impact it had on his family.

“We acknowledge and apologize for the distress caused to the duke, and the damage inflicted on relationships, friendships and family, and have agreed to pay him substantial damages,” the settlement statement said.

News Group has long acknowledged that phones were hacked by staff at the News of the World, the weekly newspaper that Murdoch shut down in 2011 amid a public outcry over tabloid snooping. But this is the first time the company accepted wrongdoing at The Sun, a paper that once sold millions of copies with its formula of sports, celebrities and sex — including topless women on Page 3.

Harry, 40, the younger son of King Charles III, had vowed to take his case to trial to publicly expose The Sun's misdeeds and win a court ruling upholding his claims. He and Tom Watson, a former Labour Party member of Parliament, were the only two remaining claimants out of more than 1,300 others who had settled lawsuits against News Group Newspapers.

The trial was due to start Tuesday, but was postponed amid last-minute negotiations that led to the dramatic settlement announcement.

Although the settlement means Harry will not get his day in court, his lawyer said it delivered the accountability he sought for himself and hundreds of others who were snooped on with intercepted voicemails, tapped phones, bugged cars and various forms of deception.

News Group acknowledged “phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators” aimed at Harry. NGN had strongly denied those allegations before trial.

“This represents a vindication for the hundreds of other claimants who were strong-armed into settling without being able to get to the truth of what was done to them,” Sherborne said outside court.

Harry's feud with the press dates back to his youth, when the tabloids took glee in reporting on everything from his injuries to his girlfriends to dabbling with drugs.

But his fury with the tabloids goes much deeper.

He blames the media for the death of his mother, who was killed in a car crash in 1997 while being chased by paparazzi in Paris. He also blames them for the persistent attacks on his wife, actor Meghan Markle, that led them to leave royal life and flee to the U.S. in 2020.

The litigation has been a source of friction in his family, Harry said in the documentary “Tabloids On Trial.”

He revealed in court papers that his father opposed his lawsuit. He also said his older brother William, Prince of Wales and heir to the throne, had settled a private complaint against News Group that his lawyer has said was worth over 1 million pounds ($1.23 million).

“I’m doing this for my reasons,” Harry told the documentary makers, though he said he wished his family had joined him.

Watson, who was targeted by NGN when he was part of an investigation into allegations of tabloid wrongdoing, also said the intrusion had taken a heavy toll on himself and his family.

“I once said that the big beasts of the tabloid jungle have no predators,” Watson said. “I was wrong, they have Prince Harry. … We are grateful to him for his unwavering support and his determination under extraordinary pressure.”

Watson, who also received an apology and substantial settlement, called on Murdoch to issue a personal apology to Harry, the king and “countless others” affected by tabloid intrusion.

News Group Newspapers said the settlement “draws a line under the past” and ends more than a decade of litigation.

The company has now settled more than 1,300 claims without going to trial. In doing so, it has spent more than 1 billion pounds ($1.24 billion) in payouts and legal costs.

Harry's attorney said the company still had questions to answer. Sherborne said the company engaged in “perjury and cover-ups” to obscure the truth for years, deleting 30 million emails and other records.

“There was an extensive conspiracy,” the statement said, in which “senior executives deliberately obstructed justice.”

News Group said in a statement that it would have disputed at trial that evidence was destroyed and it continues to deny those allegations.

Sherborne took aim at former Sun editor Rebekah Brooks, now the CEO overseeing News Group, who was acquitted of phone hacking a decade ago.

“At her trial in 2014, Rebekah Brooks said, ‘When I was editor of The Sun, we ran a clean ship,’” he said. ”Ten years later when she is CEO of the company, they now admit, when she was editor of The Sun, they ran a criminal enterprise.”

NGN apologized for wrongdoing by private eyes hired by The Sun, but not for anything done by its journalists, adding: “There was no voicemail interception on The Sun.”

Harry’s case against NGN was one of three he brought accusing British tabloids of violating his privacy by eavesdropping on phone messages or using private investigators to unlawfully help them score scoops.

His case against the publisher of the Daily Mirror ended in victory when the judge ruled that phone hacking was “widespread and habitual” at the newspaper and its sister publications.

During that trial in 2023, Harry became the first senior member of the royal family to testify in court since the late 19th century, putting him at odds with the monarchy’s desire to keep its problems out of view.

The outcome in the News Group case raises questions about how his third case — against the publisher of the Daily Mail — will proceed. That trial is scheduled next year.

FILE - Rebekah Brooks, former News International chief executive, talks to members of the media in central London, Thursday, June 26, 2014. (AP Photo/Lefteris Pitarakis, File)

FILE -Prince Harry and Meghan Markle arrive at United Nations headquarters, July 18, 2022. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE - Meghan Markle and Prince Harry pose for pictures after visiting the observatory in One World Trade in New York, Sept. 23, 2021.(AP Photo/Seth Wenig, File)

FILE -Britain's Prince Harry and his fiancee Meghan Markle pose for photographers during a photocall in the grounds of Kensington Palace in London, Nov. 27, 2017. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, File)

FILE -Prince Harry, The Duke of Sussex, attends the Formula One U.S. Grand Prix auto race at Circuit of the Americas, Oct. 22, 2023, in Austin, Texas. (AP Photo/Darron Cummings), File)

FILE -Britain's Prince Harry leaves after attending an Invictus Games Foundation 10th Anniversary Service of Thanksgiving at St Paul's Cathedral in London, May 8, 2024. (AP Photo/Kirsty Wigglesworth), File)

Layer Clare Montgomery departs the High Court as Prince Harry's legal action against News Group Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information gathering begins in London, Tuesday, Jan. 21, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

British lawmaker Tom Watson, center, arrives at the High Court, as Prince Harry's legal action against News Group Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information gathering begins, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

Lawyer David Sherborne, front, arrives at the High Court, as Prince Harry's legal action against News Group Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information gathering begins, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

British lawmaker Tom Watson arrives at the High Court, as Prince Harry's legal action against News Group Newspapers over allegations of unlawful information gathering begins, in London, Wednesday, Jan. 22, 2025. (AP Photo/Alastair Grant)

FILE - News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch delivers a keynote address at the National Summit on Education Reform in San Francisco, Oct. 14, 2011. (AP Photo/Noah Berger, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Wednesday, June 7, 2023. (AP Photo/Kin Cheung, File)

FILE - Prince Harry leaves the High Court after giving evidence in London, Tuesday, June 6, 2023. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali, File)

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — A panel of Brazil’s Supreme Court justices began proceedings Tuesday to determine whether former President Jair Bolsonaro and close allies will stand trial on five counts, including attempting to stage a coup.

Prosecutor-General Paulo Gonet charged Bolsonaro last month with plotting a coup after he lost the 2022 election to his opponent and current President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. Part of that plan allegedly included poisoning Lula and killing Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, a foe of Bolsonaro.

Five Supreme Court justices — including de Moraes, the rapporteur — opened proceedings around 9:45 a.m. local time in Brasilia to rule on the charges leveled by Gonet. If a majority votes in favor, the accused will become defendants in a criminal case.

Bolsonaro and his alleged accomplices also stand accused of participating in an armed criminal organization, attempted violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, damage qualified by violence and a serious threat against the state’s assets, and deterioration of listed heritage.

The criminal organization was active between July 2021 and January 2023, de Moraes said at the beginning of proceedings Tuesday. He said the group's practices comprised of "a series of malicious acts aimed at abolishing the democratic rule of law and deposing the legitimately elected government.”

Gonet, who spoke after de Moraes and had 30 minutes to present his indictment of the accused, said that the group had sought to maintain Bolsonaro in power “at all costs."

“The criminal organization documented its project and during the investigations, manuscripts, digital files, spreadsheets and exchanges of messages were found,” Gonet said.

Bolsonaro has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and says that he's being politically persecuted.

Local television network Globonews showed Bolsonaro arriving at the Supreme Court. Speaking earlier to journalists Tuesday morning at Brasilia's airport, Bolsonaro again denied the accusations.

“I'm fine. I always hope for justice. Nothing is substantiated in the accusations, made in a biased way, by the Federal Police,” Bolsonaro said, referring to the 884-page report filed in late November.

Under Brazilian law, a coup conviction alone carries a sentence of up to 12 years, but when combined with the other charges, it could result in a sentence of decades behind bars.

Observers say that it's likely that the charges will be accepted.

“There is no shadow of a doubt that there are very clear elements” that crimes were committed, said Thiago Bottino, a law professor at the Getulio Vargas Foundation, a think tank and university. “The current tendency is that there will be a criminal trial.”

Gonet filed charges against a total of 34 people in February. On Tuesday, the Supreme Court will analyze whether to accept charges against eight of them. As well as Bolsonaro, the court will vote on the accusations faced by former Defense Ministers Walter Braga Netto and Paulo Sérgio Nogueira and ex-Justice Minister Anderson Torres, among others. The court will decide on the others' fates later on.

Bolsonaro has sought to shore up political support before the possible trial, including by holding a protest on Copacabana Beach in Rio de Janeiro on March 16.

Local media reported that around 18,000 people attended the rally, based on figures from a monitoring project linked to the University of Sao Paulo. Bolsonaro’s allies had hoped to draw a crowd of 1 million, which led some analysts to say that his ability to mobilize voters is diminishing.

Bolsonaro called on social media Sunday for a new demonstration on April 6, to be held on one of Sao Paulo’s main arteries, Avenida Paulista.

As with the protest earlier this month, the former president and his allies will push for Congress to grant amnesty to those in jail for their roles in the Jan. 8, 2023 riot, when Bolsonaro’s die-hard fans stormed and trashed the Supreme Court, Presidential Palace and Congress a week after Lula took office.

In his indictment of Bolsonaro and others linked to him, Gonet said that the rampage was a last-ditch attempt to hold onto power.

Bolsonaro, a former military officer who was known to express nostalgia for the country’s 1964-1985 dictatorship, openly defied Brazil’s judicial system during his 2019-2022 term in office.

He has already been banned by Brazil’s top electoral court from running in elections until 2030 over abuse of power while in office and casting unfounded doubts on the country’s electronic voting system.

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AP journalist Eduardo François contributed to this report.

Follow AP’s coverage of Latin America and the Caribbean at https://apnews.com/hub/latin-america

Security agents use a dog to sweep the Supreme Court building in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, before the trial starts for Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Gates line the perimeter of the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025, the day the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro begins. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Celso Villares, center, and Fabio Wajngarten, right, lawyers for Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, arrive at the Supreme Court for his trial in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

A journalist, foreground, attends the trial of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, on the large screen behind, in an external area of the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres)

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the press as he arrives at the Brasilia International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro arrives at the Brasilia International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro speaks to the media as he arrives at the Brasilia International Airport in Brasilia, Brazil, Tuesday, March 25, 2025. (AP Photo/Luis Nova)

FILE - Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro gestures to the crowd upon arriving at a rally in support of a proposed bill to grant amnesty to those arrested for storming government buildings in an alleged coup attempt in 2023, in Rio de Janeiro, March 16, 2025. (AP Photo/Bruna Prado, File)

FILE - Police stand on the other side of a window at Planalto Palace that was shattered by protesters, supporters of Brazil's former President Jair Bolsonaro, after they stormed the official workplace of the president in Brasilia, Brazil, Jan. 8, 2023. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)

FILE - Lady Justice statue, depicting a seated, blindfolded woman holding a sword, stands outside the Supreme Court in Brasilia, Brazil, Sept. 2, 2024. (AP Photo/Eraldo Peres, File)