Prince William Secretly Received a 'Very Large Sum Of Money' From British Media in Settlement
The royal family is often at the center of gossip among the British media. As the United Kingdom’s most famous family, they can hardly keep themselves out of the spotlight no matter how hard they try. Prince Harry is currently in the throes of a legal battle of his own regarding the British media, and his recent court documents reveal something surprising: His brother, Prince William, received a secret settlement from two news outlets back in 2020. Apparently, it was a “very large sum of money” in response to a phone hacking situation of which the public was never made aware.
Prince William and Kate Middleton | Mark Cuthbert/UK Press via Getty Images
British news outlets aren’t exactly strangers to dicey situations with the royal family. Meghan Markle famously sued the British media in recent years over a leaked letter she had written to her father, and Kate Middleton previously won a settlement when a news outlet posted topless photos of the Princess of Wales in one of its newspapers.
Apparently, though, Prince William has had his own row with the media recently. According to court documents from Harry’s current case against the press (more on that later), The Guardian reports that William brought a legal claim against Rupert Murdoch’s news outlets, the Sun and the now-defunct News of the World, over alleged phone hacking. He apparently sought damages, and Murdoch’s company settled with William for an undisclosed amount of money. The intimate details of the hacking claim were not brought to light, but it’s clear that the royals have been in a seemingly-constant battle with the press over privacy concerns.
Harry’s court documents bring up William’s legal case likely because Harry is currently fighting in court with the Sun over a similar situation. Harry is arguing that he sought an apology from News UK back in 2017 but did not receive one, despite having an agreement between his family and the newspaper that he would receive an apology in exchange for delaying legal proceedings. However, Harry claims that an apology never came, which is why he’s now suing the outlet for damages, per The Guardian. He’s made surprise appearances in the U.K. to appear in court.
Murdoch’s company is fighting back by saying that Harry’s claims are too old to bring to trial, with some of them dating back two decades. The Sun, owned by Murdoch, also maintains its innocence and says it never hacked into any royal phones.
The infamous “Tampongate” is the reason Prince Harry is suing the royal tabloids. Back in 1993, a phone call between King Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles was released to the public, where he said he wanted to become a tampon so that he could live inside of her; the call was highly embarrassing for the royal family, as Charles was still married (though separated) from Princess Diana at the time.
The leaked call resulted in an agreement between some tabloids and the royal family and that the tabloids would issue apologies in place of legal proceedings. Harry having never received an apology is the reason he’s taking the tabloids to court. And now, publicized court documents are also shedding light on William’s own attacks involving the press.
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