Prince William privately settled phone-hacking claim in 2020 for a 'very large sum'

Prince Harry is currently involved in a court case against the publishers of The Sun, News Group Newspapers.

The Duke of Sussex is accusing the company of illegally hacking his phone to obtain private information about his personal life for stories in The Sun and the now-defunct News of the World.

As part of this court case, it has emerged that Prince William also privately settled his own phone-hacking claim with NGN in 2020, with Prince Harry's team stating that the Prince of Wales was paid a 'very large sum' by the publishers, according to the Guardian.

While Prince Harry has been involved in a number of breach of privacy claims over the last few years, it was not previously known that Prince William had any involvement in a case like this one.

BBC News reports that NGN struck a 'secret agreement' with Buckingham Palace officials in 2012 so that the Royal Family would not bring further claims against them. However, NGN has denied that any agreement like this one was made.

We should probably note at this point that this court case against News UK is separate from the one that brought the Duke back to London a few weeks ago.

That case is a joint legal battle with a number of public figures, including Elton John and Sadie Frost, against the publishers of the Daily Mail, Associated Newspapers. The group are also accusing Associated of breaches of privacy, including phone tapping and the use of private investigators to find out personal information about the accusers.

Meanwhile, Harry is preparing to travel back to the UK next week, for his father King Charles' historic coronation. His relationship with his older brother Prince William has suffered in recent years, and it's unclear how this latest development will impact their relationship going forward. 

We will have to wait and see.