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Charles Spencer is praising his nephew Prince Harry, following his legal victory against Rupert Murdoch's News Group Newspapers (NGN), the publisher behind the U.K. newspaper The Sun and the now-defunct News Of The World.
Spencer, the brother of the late Princess Diana, penned a congratulatory message for the Duke of Sussex, 40, on Wednesday, Jan. 22, after he reached a settlement with NGN before their trial in London officially began.
The trial was originally scheduled to begin Tuesday morning and delayed by a day due to private settlement discussions.
"It takes an enormous amount of guts to take on major media organisations like this, and incredible tenacity to win against them," Spencer, 60, wrote in an Instagram post next to a screenshot of a BBC News report about Harry's legal victory.
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Prince Harry speaks onstage during The New York Times Dealbook Summit 2024"It’s wonderful that Harry also secured an apology for his mother - she would be immensely touched by this, I’m sure, and also rightly proud. Well done indeed," Spencer's statement continued.
NGN denied all of Harry's allegations before the parties reached the settlement, which included awarding Harry damages in the amount of an eight-figure sum, likely exceeding $12 million.
Following the settlement, NGN said in a statement obtained by PEOPLE that they offered "a full and unequivocal apology to the Duke of Sussex for the serious intrusion by The Sun between 1996 and 2011 into his private life, including incidents of unlawful activities carried out by private investigators working for The Sun." The statement and apology were the first time NGN admitted wrongdoing.
The statement further made reference to "phone hacking, surveillance and misuse of private information by journalists and private investigators instructed by them at
"NGN further apologizes to the Duke for the impact on him of the extensive coverage and serious intrusion into his private life as well as the private life of Diana, Princess of Wales, his late mother, in particular during his younger years," the statement added. "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."
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Prince Harry attends the Wellchild Awards 2024 at the Royal Lancaster Hotel on September 30, 2024In his suit, which included co-claimant, former Labour Member of Parliament Tom Watson, Harry claimed he was targeted by journalists working for NGN from the mid-1990s until 2011, using methods including "blagging of confidential information from third parties, and instructing private investigators to do these or other unlawful acts."
While it was ruled that the claim could be tried in July 2023, Judge Timothy Fancourt dismissed another claim by Harry related to phone hacking.
Fancourt stated that Harry was aware of phone hacking at the News of the World in 2012 and said he could have brought his case sooner (the U.K. usually offers claimants six years after a privacy breach to take action).
