Prince William's Phone Was Hacked by British Tabloids — and the Royal Got a 'Very Large Sum'

Many people are fascinated by the British royal family — and some media players will go to extreme lengths to gather private information about them.

In 2020, heir to the British throne Prince William received a “very large sum” in a settlement with the British newspapers within Rupert Murdoch‘s media empire for phone hacking, per court documents made public on Tuesday, NBC reported.

But it was the royal’s brother Prince Harry whose own legal proceedings brought the settlement to light. Harry’s lawyers revealed the detail during a summary of arguments about why Harry’s lawsuit, which alleges Murdoch publications The Sun and now-folded News of the World hacked his phone two decades ago, should stand.

Murdoch-owned News Group Newspapers contends that Harry’s lawsuit should be dismissed because too much time has passed, but Harry says he waited to take action until 2017 and finally filed the suit in 2019 because of a “secret agreement” the late Queen Elizabeth II authorized between the royal family and the newspapers, per the outlet.

“When I did actually issue my hacking claims against both MGN and NGN in October 2019, I was summoned to Buckingham Palace and specifically told to drop the legal actions because they have an ‘effect on all the family,'” Harry said in a witness statement reported by The Guardian.

Harry has also brought lawsuits against other British newspapers, including two additional phone-hacking claims, per NBC.

Prince William’s Phone Was Hacked by British Tabloids — and the Royal Got a ‘Very Large Sum’